Misplaced Memories
by jfox99
Summary: A girl with no knowledge of her past appears on the shore of Lake Verity. With the desire to find out who she is she sets out on a life changing journey with her Pokemon and the few human companions she grudgingly makes along the way.
1. In Which a Girl Appears

Disclaimer: I in no way whatsoever own Pokemon

AN: Few things I thought people might like to know before they start reading: 1) in case you couldn't tell, this is an OC story 2) the rating is for language and to be on the safe side with the violence that appears and 5) this story is more game based than anime based, although some things, like levels and the fact that Pokemon can only know four moves, have no bearing on the story. Thanks and hope you enjoy it.

**Chapter 1: In Which a Girl Appears**

The ground shook, the light filtering through her closed lids was snuffed out, and the screaming of scared people combined with the roar of those monsters to create a wall of jumbled and ear piercing sound. She could feel the presence of the beast standing over her, could feel its rancid breath over her back. From her right came an intense heat, a sure sign that something had been set aflame and was burning nicely.

The little body under her shifted and she hissed unsympathetically for the child to stay still. The child obeyed with a soft whimper but she made no attempt to calm the young person. She would keep the kid safe, but that was all.

Laughter, as nearby as the monster standing over her, broke through the noise, the cruel and familiar tone something from nightmares of her childhood. "Cowering in a corner like last time I see," the voice said, sounding amused. "And here was me, thinking you were dead with the rest of them. We'll just have to remedy that, now won't we?"

Cursing under her breath, she braced her body for what she knew would come. She wished she could turn around, could in some way at least try to defend her life, could do something besides cower in a corner with her back to everything. But if she did, then he would see the kid and, well, she would rather not live with the consequences. All she could do now was hope the kid didn't freak out after what she knew was coming.

She heard a slapping noise, as if a hand had just hit the flank of a large animal. The voice said a command that sounded like "Slash" and there was the feeling of movement behind her, the sound of a large bulk shifting its weight…

And then there was pain. A sharp, hot pain that made her want to scream out. She stopped herself though, refusing to give her tormenter the satisfaction and not wanting to freak the child out and have him give himself away. This was all she had time to think about however as the pain overwhelmed her, causing her head to fill with a buzzing feeling and her body to go numb. All except for the intense pain along her back. That was still there, the only thing she could still feel as she slowly left conciseness and her life behind.

It was then that the pain and noise and the heat abruptly vanished, leaving her with an odd, detached feeling. Shock forced her eyes opened, something she soon regretted.

Around her was darkness, impenetrable and foreboding. In front of her, floating like colored lanterns, were two lights. One was small and yellow and it flitted around the gigantic blue light. She watched until the yellow light stopped and came drifting over to her. Scared, she tried to move away but found that her body was unresponsive.

"_Look at this. Honestly, could you cut it any finer? The Healer needs to be alive you know,"_ the yellow light berated the blue one after hovering in front of her face for quite some time. When the blue light responded, it was then that she realized she wasn't hearing the voices. Not with her ears at least.

"_Is this the one?"_ the blue light asked, ignoring the yellow one's earlier comment.

"_Yes, although what good she can possibly do so close to death I have no idea."_

"_And here was I, thinking you were the one that created knowledge itself."_

"_Oh, do be quiet and just get us all out of here"_

It was then that she well and truly blacked out, but not before wondering what she had done that was so horrible it warranted an afterlife like the one her's was shaping up to be.

~~**~~**~~**~~

Lucas cleared the last patch of grass and the entrance to Lake Verity came into sight. He let out a relived sigh and walked forward briskly, hoping the Professor would be where his note had said he was heading. As stern and serious as Professor Rowan could be at times, he applied himself whole heartedly to his work and had a habit of putting all things second to it. This included finishing his important paper on Pokemon evolution that he was supposed to be sending out that day.

The increased rumors about the legendary Pokemon Mesprit being spotted in the local lake had peeked the Professor's interest and he had set out for the lake early that morning, leaving his assistant to go out and drag him back to his work. Lucas sighed again as he walked under the arching tree branches, wondering how Professor Rowan managed to get anything done.

Emerging from the trees, Lucas was relived to see the back of the lab coat wearing figure that he knew to be the Professor. The old man was crouching over something near the lake shore, but Lucas couldn't see what it was from his angle.

"There you are Professor Rowan," the young assistant said in exasperation. "We need to head back to the lab so you can finish that paper." Rowan stood up and turned to Lucas the moment her heard the young man's voice. His brow was creased in worry and a deep frown pulled down the corners of his mouth. Shocked by the look, Lucas couldn't help but stutter out, "P-professor?"

"Lucas come over here quickly. No questions, the situation is grave." Obeying, Lucas rushed to Rowan's side, coming to an abrupt halt when he saw what Rowan had been looking at moments before. "I just got here myself," the Professor explained as Lucas continued to stare. "She was laying half in the water. I checked and she's still alive, barely though."

Laying face down in the sand was a girl of about seventeen, face pale and brown hair in tangled strands that fell around her and into the sand. Her eyes were closed and harsh, raspy breaths came from her mouth at unnatural, and lengthening, intervals. Her tattered clothing was wet and sand coated and as Lucas watched, wide eyed, a huge shiver went through the girl's entire body.

And then his eyes finally fell on the one thing they had been trying to avoid. Along her back were two long, deep gashes. They were still bleeding sluggishly and the shirt around the wound was coated with blood. Lucas couldn't even begin to fathom what had happened that had put the girl in such a state.

"Lucas I need you to run back to town and get a doctor," Rowan ordered. "I don't think we should move her without a professional here." Lucas hesitated, still in shock from what he was seeing. "Go on, be quick about it boy," Rowan snapped. Jarred back into reality, Lucas nodded and took off for town at a sprint.

~~**~~**~~**~~

"Well, that's the best I can do," the doctor said, wiping her hands on a cloth as she closed the door behind her. "I recommend you let her stay here for a few days so the nurses and I can keep an eye on her condition. If she shows improvement she can be moved to your lab for further monitoring."

"Actually, I have talked to my assistant's family and they have agreed to let the girl stay there," Rowan informed the doctor.

"Speaking of your assistant, did he find anything?"

Rowan shook his head, frowning. "No, I sent him back to look for a traveling pack, her Pokedex, signs of her Pokemon, something, but he said nothing showed up. He says he even sent out one of his water Pokemon to search the lake."

"Strange to say the least. Well, we'll just have to ask her when she wakes up," the doctor replied, looking at the door.

"So she will live?" Rowan asked, his concern over the girl's condition showing in his voice.

"She should if everything goes well," the doctor replied. "Really, I feel if she could survive those injuries long enough to make it here, she should make it now her condition has been stabilized."

"It truly is miraculous that she's alive," Rowan commented as he and the doctor began to walk away from the room.

"She certainly has something watching over her, I'll give you that."

~~**~~**~~**~~

A girl woke up in an unknown room in a pair of flannel pajamas and with an aching back. Sitting up with some difficulty, the girl looked around the room she was in. The place was extremely clean and had a slightly unlived in feeling, much like a guest room. She was trying to figure out what was going on and how she had gotten there when the door opened.

Peering around the doorway was a little girl around ten. She looked over at the girl on the bed and let out an exited squeal. "Oh, you're finally awake. Stay right there." With that the little girl shut the door and the sound of feet running down stairs could be heard. A few seconds later there was the sound of a door slamming.

"Stay here?" the girl said, plopping back onto the bed with a wince. "I can barely move." Closing her eyes, she tried to figure out what was going on, tried to remember the last thing that had happened to her. She couldn't remember a thing however, not why her back hurt so much or why she was in that room or where she had been before that.

The more she thought about it, the more the girl realized she didn't remember anything. She panicked for a second, wondering what was going on. Could she even remember who she was? She…she knew her name and, yes, when she thought about it, she remember her age. Yes, her name was Andrea and she was seventeen.

That was all she remembered though, nothing about where she was from or who her family was or anything else that told her who she was. Her brow wrinkled as she tried to remember something, anything, else.

Finally, something came to her. There was the impression of fear, and people, and a laugh. Yes, there was a laugh she could remember as clearly as her name. It was cruel and mocking and for some reason sent shivers down her spine.

Andrea opened her eyes when she heard the door opening and saw a black haired woman in a lab coat enter the room. Behind her came the little girl of earlier, looking excited.

"Ah, so you finally woke up," the woman said. "I was beginning to get a bit worried." She walked over to the bed Andrea was laying on.

"Who are you?" Andrea asked, sitting back up. The woman in the lab coat looked worried as Andrea winced a bit. "And why am I here?"

"I'm Dr. Maple. As to why you are here, you were found severely injured a few days ago. After I was sure you would be fine, we brought you here. Now I believe it is my turn for questions. How did you end up with those injuries?" The woman gave Andrea a serious look, waiting for an answer.

Andrea returned the look, beginning to wonder if she should trust the woman. She had apparently been hurt and, well, she had no idea what had happened. For all she knew the woman could have something to do with it. Of course that brought up the question of why she had apparently fixed the wounds…

"Well?" The doctor interrupted Andrea's thoughts, her arms folded across her chest, waiting for an answer.

Deciding that she really had no other choice but the truth, simply because she had no idea what a plausible story would be, Andrea answered. "I have no idea," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. That movement caused a bit of pain in her back, something that she suspected came from the injuries the woman was talking about.

"What do you mean you have no idea? How can you not know how you ended up with your back in shreds?" The doctor made no effort to disguise her frustration and disbelief in Andrea's answer.

"Same way I can not know anything else," Andrea hazarded, shrugging her shoulders again. The woman looked a bit shocked at that answer and the little girl finally interjected something into the conversation.

"So does that mean you don't know your name?" the little girl asked with disappointment.

"I know my name and age, but that's about it."

"Well, what's your name then?" the little girl demanded.

"Andrea."

"I'm Sue. How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Wow, you're even older than my brother."

It was then that Dr. Maple got over her shock and started talking again. "Can't you remember anything else? Something that might help identify why you were hurt or who you are?"

"I just told you my name," Andrea pointed out.

"Yes, but can you remember anything a bit more helpful than a fist name only? Last name maybe?" Andrea just shook her head and the doctor sighed. "I suppose the fact that you know your name should be considered a blessing if you're suffering amnesia. If you can move I'd like you to get dressed and come to my office. I want to check your back."

"I can move," Andrea replied, getting herself out of bed to demonstrate. She was a bit stiff and her back hurt of course but besides that things were fine. The doctor placed a pile of clothing on the bed and asked Andrea if she needed any help changing. The teen frowned a bit and told her no.

A few minutes later Andrea came out of the room, a scowl across her face. "I appreciate what you're doing, but didn't you have any pants you could give me?"

"Those are the only clothes I had that I thought might fit you," Maple said, glancing at the green skirt the girl was now wearing. Before Andrea could say anything else, she turned to the little girl. "Sue, would you please go and tell Professor Rowan we'll be heading over to the lab once I give Andrea here a check up."

"Of course Dr. Maple," Sue said with a smile before running down the stairs and out of the house. The doctor indicated for Andrea to follow her as she began to leave herself.

~~**~~**~~**~~

"Hi Professor," Sue greeted the old man. Her older brother had reluctantly brought her to the man's office once she told him she had news about the mysterious girl. Her brother was currently standing by the door frame, waiting for her to start talking.

"Hello Sue," the old man returned the greeting as he turned form his work. "You aren't here to ask me for a Pokemon again are you? You know I can't give you one for a few more weeks."

"I know, I have to wait until I'm ten," the little girl replied, looking a bit disappointed. She quickly perked up when she remembered why she had come there in the first place. "Oh, Professor, I'm supposed to tell you Dr. Maple is bringing that girl over."

"She's awake?" Rowan asked in surprise. "Did she say how she was hurt?"

"No," Sue answered, neglecting to mention it was because the girl could not remember. "She did say her name and how old she is though. She's Andrea and she's seventeen." Here she turned to her brother. "That makes her two years older than you Lucas." Lucas opened his mouth to respond.

Before a fight could start between his assistant and the young girl, Rowan interrupted with another question. "When will Dr. Maple be bringing the girl over here Sue?"

"They should be here soon," the little girl told him, bringing her attention back to the main subject. "Dr. Maple said they would come here right after she checked Andrea's back."

"Well, thank you Sue." The little girl looked at him expectantly so he felt compelled to add, "Some of the Pokemon need feeding, would you like to do that for me?" The little girl nodded happily and left the room. Lucas was still standing in the doorway, so Rowan turned to him. "Lucas, would you watch the door for our guests?"

"Of course Professor," the boy said before leaving the room. Rowan went back to his work, waiting for the arrival of the doctor and the girl. Fifteen minutes later Lucas finally came back to his office the two women in tow.

Rowan turned around when he heard them enter the room. Standing up, he gave them a warm greeting that only Maple returned. Andrea simply said hello and looked moodily at her feet.

"Well, it is good to see up and about," Rowan told her. "I can take the fact that you are here as sign you are doing much better?" Andrea gave him a nod, but said nothing else. Thinking that perhaps she was shy, Rowan smiled, hoping to make her more comfortable. "I'm glad to hear that. Dr. Maple is very skilled in her profession and I can only think it was through her skill that you are here to talk with us."

"Yeah, thanks again for that," Andrea mumbled in the doctors direction, not really sure how to act in the situation. "And I heard you're the one who found me, so thanks," she added in the Professor's direction.

"No thanks needed," Rowan replied with a wave of his hand. "I am sorry to tell you though that we have yet to find your Pokemon. Do you have any idea what could have happened to them? Telling us what Pokemon you had with you would be a great help, I'm sure."

"There you people go again, about these Poke-e-man. I have no idea what the hell they are," Andrea bust out in exasperation, throwing her arms up. Rowan was shocked by the outburst, but Maple just shook her head.

"Professor, perhaps your assistant would be so good as to give Andrea here a tour of the lab?" Maple suggested. She obviously wanted to talk to Rowan alone, but could think of no other polite way to get rid of the two teens. Rowan nodded, understanding what she wanted.

"That sounds like an excellent idea. Lucas?" Rowan looked in the direction of the boy. Lucas was standing in the doorway still and was looking with alarm at a now fuming Andrea. At the sound of his name, the boy looked up. "Be so good as to show Andrea around would you? And close the door as you two leave."

Nodding, Lucas indicated for Andrea to follow him. She hesitated, but eventually the girl stepped over to him and he shut the door, leaving the adults to talk. Rowan waited a few seconds before clearing off a chair for Maple to sit in. When he was done, the doctor sat down with a sigh.

"There is a problem Professor," Maple began wearily. "It seems that the girl has amnesia of some sort. All she seems to remember is her first name and her age."

"Really? It didn't look like she had any head injuries," Rowan said in surprise.

"I know, but the human body and mind can be odd, especially when they suffer sever trauma." Maple sighed again, rubbing the bridge of her nose in an attempt to relive her stress.

"Well, we should be glad she remembers something. But it is odd, her not knowing what Pokemon are," Rowan commented.

"That's the problem Professor. She seems to remember everything else about everyday life. She knows the names of things, that sort of thing. I was testing her on the way here once I realized she didn't know what Pokemon are. The only things she truly seems to have forgotten are things about herself, her life."

"Well then, do you have any explanation as to why she might not know about such an important part of society?" Rowan was beginning to have his own suspicions based on what the doctor had said.

"Not really," Maple said with a frustrated shake of her head.

"Well than, let me make a guess. I think this all has something to do with where she was found."

"What are you trying to imply Professor?" Maple asked, already having a good idea of where he was going with all this.

"I suspect this all has something to do with the fact that she was found near Lake Verity, the known home of Mesprit. I would bet that the girl's memory loss has something to do with this or maybe another legendary Pokemon." Rowan gave a pleased look as he finished with his explanation.

"Oh come on Professor. Are you telling me you think this all has something to do with a legendary Pokemon? No, I can not accept that, there has to be some kind of logical explanation that does not include Pokemon that don't exist."

"Come now Maple," the Professor reprimanded her lightly. "You would never have been so closed minded about all of this when I gave you your first Pokemon. Just because you have never seen one of the legendary Pokemon does not mean they do not exist."

"Professor, we are both people of science, people of fact and reason. You can't expect me to believe this ridiculousness," Maple replied in frustration, ignoring the Professor's attempt to bring up her days as a trainer. "I am not going to believe in some unproven Pokemon, let alone think they had something to do with the girl's memory loss, until I see some real evidence past old legends and wall inscriptions."

Rowan sighed in frustration, knowing that, for now at least, Maple would not budge in her belief. "Fine, can we at least agree that this girl is definitely not one of your average patients?"

"Seeing as my average patient is a kid with a head cold, I believe we can," Maple said sarcastically, rubbing the bridge of her noise again.

Rowan shook his head, "Sarcastic as ever I see. Well, since we have come to that agreement at lest, may I suggest we go find the girl and see if we can't find anything else about her." Rowan was already standing up and heading for the door.

By the time he had opened the office door, Maple was still sitting in the chair. He looked over at her and she sighed heavily. "Fine, for whatever good it'll do us." With that she got up wearily from the chair and followed the Professor out.


	2. In Which Things are Hypothesized

**Chapter 2: In Which Things are Hypothesized**

Andrea walked behind the shorter boy as he showed off the lab to her, rambling on about all kinds of stuff that made no sense to her, most of them involving those Pokemon things people kept talking about.

Green eyes taking in the surroundings, the brunet had a hard time believing it was a place of science. There were piles of papers and all kinds of other junk on every flat surface and quite a few slanted surfaces as well, since some of the piles seemed to have collapsed under their own weight. A few people in lab coats rushed here and there, adding or subtracting from various piles without seeming to have any problems finding things. Most of the rooms the boy, Lucas she thought his name was, had taken her into were in equal states of disarray, something that made Andrea briefly worry about fire hazards.

"…and out here is where we let the Pokemon out for exercise. Many trainers that have gotten their first Pokemon form the Professor send any extras they catch here for us to care for," Lucas was explaining as he led Andrea out of the building and into the area behind the lab. There was a lake off to one side, where Andrea saw _something_ jump briefly out of the water, and a bit in the distance she saw a patch of trees. The area in front of her was covered mainly in grass that came up to her knees in some places. And the entire place seemed to be fenced in, something Andrea found rather surprising.

"Lets go see if we can find my sister. She should be around here somewhere seeing as she was supposed to be feeding the Pokemon." With that, Lucas started walking through the grass, heading in the direction of the trees. Andrea took off after him, wishing the stupid skirt allowed her to take longer strides as he began to move farther away.

She was considering asking him to slow down when a rustling in the grass caught her attention. Stopping, she turned in the direction of the noise and peered at the ground.

"Shit! What the hell kind of beaver is that?"

Lucas abruptly stopped when he heard the loud curse come from behind him. Turning around, he saw the girl Andrea staring at the ground with a slack jawed, bug eyed expression. Rushing over, he looked at the ground where the older girl was pointing, back to her, then at the ground again.

"That's a Bidoof," Lucas replied slowly, giving her a confused look. She seemed so shocked by such a common Pokemon. She just continued to stare at the little Pokemon, who came up and rubbed against Lucas's leg.

Crouching down, Lucas patted the Pokemon's head while Andrea got over her shock. It didn't take long.

"What's a Bidoof?" she asked, still staring at the brown Pokemon.

"A normal type Pokemon?" Lucas hazard, wondering what trick the older girl was playing on him. The entire time she had been acting as if she had no idea what Pokemon were.

"Is this one of those Poke-e-man things you people keep talking about then?" Lucas looked at her incredulously, unable to believe she had actually asked that question. As he continued to stare, Andrea cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Do you seriously not know what Pokemon are?"

"Yes, I seriously don't know what Pokemon are," Andrea replied with some heat. By this time the Bidoof had scampered away so Lucas finally stood up, still looking at Andrea in disbelief. The older girl just got more frustrated with him until he finally spoke.

"Pokemon are amazing creatures who form very close bonds of friendship with people," Lucas informed Andrea with some passion. "If you really don't know what Pokemon are I think it would be best if you talked to the Professor, since he is one of the leading experts on them. Come on." Abruptly he turned back to the lab and started for the door.

Grumbling, Andrea went after him, only to almost run into him a few steps later. "What?" she asked since he was staring at her again.

"When we saw that Bidoof you called it a beaver. What are those?"

"A beaver is…" Andrea began, only to trail off when an explanation eluded her. When that thing had jumped out at her, she had known what a beaver was. She still did in some fuzzy, unfocused way. She could not, however, explain to this boy what exactly a beaver was. "Don't worry about it," Andrea finally told him.

When Lucas did nothing but look at her with curiosity, Andrea pushed past him and started for the door by herself. Reaching the door, hand on the doorknob, Andrea was yanked forward as someone from the inside opened the door

"Oh, sorry about that," came the Professor's startled voice. Andrea just looked at him and past to see Dr. Maple standing behind him. "Anyway, I'm glad to see you. We," he indicated the doctor and himself, "were just coming to find you. We have some questions."

"Oh, Professor, we were just coming to see you too," came Lucas's voice from right behind Andrea's shoulder. Andrea resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Honestly, the boy seemed to become most exited when the old man was around, like a dog happy to see his master. A few seconds after making that analogy Andrea realized that, like with the beaver, she had no real, concrete idea of what a dog was when moments before she knew she had.

"So, what did you want to ask?" Andrea spoke up, pushing the worry about just what was happening inside her head away. Whatever was going on could be figured out later, she was sure.

"It was about Pokemon actually," Rowan replied, ignoring Andrea's straightforward behavior. "Dr. Maple tells me you don't really know what they are." It was a statement, not a question.

Of course, Lucas did not seem to understand that. "That's right Professor," he supplied. "We just ran into a Bidoof and Andrea had no idea what it was. She called it a beaver." This comment put Andrea under the intense gaze of both the adults.

"Really? Would you care to explain exactly what a beaver is Andrea?" Rowan asked.

"I can't," the teen replied. "I knew and now…" she paused, trying to come up with a way of articulating what had happened. "Now I don't," she finished lamely.

"Well this is interesting," Rowan commented, glancing over at Dr. Maple who just snorted. "Perhaps we could discuss this back in my office?" He moved out of the doorway and indicated for Andrea and Lucas to come inside.

Andrea came in and took off in the direction of Rowan's office.

"Andrea," came Maple's voice. Andrea turned and saw the woman pointing down the opposite hallway. "Professor Rowan's office is this way."

Giving no sign that she had just been walking in the wrong direction, Andrea turned and headed in the direction Maple had pointed, making sure to stay behind someone on the trip to the office. When they finally reached the office, the two adults took the only available seats, leaving the teens to stand. Lucas stood stiffly near the door while Andrea leaned against the wall, arms folded across her chest.

"So," Rowan began the moment the door was closed, "Let me see if I have things correct. You, Andrea, have no idea what Pokemon are, yet you know, knew, about other creatures, such as a beaver." When Andrea nodded, Rowan continued. "Do you know anything about the area where you were found?" This time a shake of the head. "Well, let me summarize it for you. You were found by Lake Verity, the suspected home of one of our regions Pokemon of legend. This particular Pokemon has a special connection with a few others, one of whom is associated with knowledge."

"Are you saying one of these Poke-e-man things took my memories or something?" Andrea said, a frown forming.

"That is what the Professor is trying to say, yes," Maple interjected. "I think his idea is a bit farfetched myself, and truly don't believe he should be worrying you with it."

"If that is the case, you are not going to like what I have to say next," Rowan informed the doctor. "From what I have just heard, I have come to another conclusion. Like the connection to the Pokemon of knowledge, the Pokemon of Lake Verity is connected to another Pokemon. The Pokemon of space that could, theoretically, travel to entirely different worlds."

"Professor, you aren't seriously-" Maple's disbelieving and angry voice said.

"Professor, if that is true the implications alone-" Lucas's was saying at the same time and at the same volume as Maple. His voice however was filled with excitement.

"Are you crazy old man?" Andrea burst out, giving the Professor a suspicious look. She understood what Rowan was implying and did not like the idea one bit.

"Now if everyone would just be quiet and listen, I'll explain," Rowan said patiently. Everyone quieted down and he continued. "Think about it, we found you suffering sever injuries next to a lake with known connections to the only beings on the planet not only capable of giving you the amnesia you're suffering from but to also bring you from somewhere without Pokemon and creatures unknown to us."

"Are you honestly suggesting I came from a different dimension or some such nonsense? I may not remember anything, but I'm pretty dam sure that that sort of thing does not happen."

"Professor if you keep suggesting these ridicules ideas, I am-" Maple began.

"Just think about it logically," Rowan interrupted. "Based on what we know, the scenario does make sense."

"I believe the Professor," Lucas interjected, earning himself a pleased smile from Rowan and glares from the two females.

"Andrea, think and see if you can't remember anything else," Rowan said, turning to her. "I am sure if you can, it will clear things up."

"I already told you people that I can't remember anything else," Andrea began to protest.

"Just try," Rowan urged.

"Whatever," Andrea mumbled, closing her eyes. She thought back to the one thing she remembered that could possibly be called a memory. The laugh, mocking, taunting, enjoying the pain its owner was causing. But there was nothing before or after that laugh, except…Andrea closed her eyes tighter, trying to follow the impression that had just surfaced.

There was a light. No, it was two lights she realized, one large and one small, one blue and one yellow. They were…talking? She could almost remember what they were saying so she thought a bit harder. It was then that there was what she could only describe as a flash and a stabbing pain in her head, almost unbearable.

The next thing she knew she was being supported by a scared and pale Lucas, Dr. Maple and Professor Rowan hovering near her. She looked around her surroundings as the flashing lights that took up her vision cleared, clutching at her still throbbing head.

"Two lights," she gasped, receiving more startled looks from the room's other occupants. "Yellow and blue. Blue one said 'thought you created all knowledge' or something like that." Andrea winced at the stab of pain in her head. Gently, Maple led her to one of the chairs, pushing Andrea into it when the girl just stared at it blankly.

"What's the matter?" Maple asked in concern.

"Head. Hurts a lot," was Andrea's mumbled reply. With her head in her hands, she missed the worried look Maple and Rowan exchanged.

"Lucas, go grab some headache medicine please. You know where it is," Rowan requested. Lucas nodded and quickly rushed out of the room.

"I think this may just prove me right," Rowan said as Lucas left. "I am not completely sure about this blue light, but from what you said that yellow 'light' is probably Uxie, the Pokemon of knowledge."

"Professor, is this really the best time?" Maple reprimanded, shooting him and angry glance before turning back to the teen.

"I don't see why not," Rowan said with a shrug.

"I think Professor Rowan might be right," Andrea spoke up, wincing as the pain in her head flared briefly. "About all of it. In some weird way it does all make sense."

"I can tell no one is going to listen to me," Maple said with a heavy sigh. "Well, I have yet to be convinced but for now I suppose we'll just have to accept the Professor's theory."

It was then that Lucas rushed back into the room, glass of water in one hand, a bottle in the other. He handed them to the doctor while giving Andrea a concerned glance. Maple handed the glass to Andrea before taking a pill out of the bottle and handing that to the girl as well.

"Swallow this with the water. It should help your headache go away." Andrea did as she was instructed, popping the pill into her mouth to quickly follow it with the contents of the glass. When she was done, Rowan took the glass and placed it no his already cluttered desk.

"I think it would be best if you went back to Lucas's house and got some more rest," advised Maple, the doctor in her becoming evident.

Andrea shook her head, grimacing at the slight pain that action induced. "No, I want to hear about these Poke-e-man things. Especially these two that got me in this whole mess."

Maple was about to protest, to order the girl to go get the rest she needed, when Rowan placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. She looked over at him and he shook his head slightly.

"Well, I think I can oblige that request," Rowan told Andrea, turning from the doctor to her. "The Pokemon that I suspect brought you here is known as Palkia. It is said to be able to control space itself. Legend also tells us it conflicts with the Pokemon of time, Dialga." As he was explaining this, Rowan began to pace, hands behind his back. Lucas looked on with an intent look on his face, as if he were expected to recite the information from memory at a later time. Maple just frowned slightly, arms crossed over her chest, foot tapping to some unheard rhythm of impatience.

"Well, where can I find this Palkia Poke-e-man so he can send me back to wherever?" Andrea interrupted impatiently.

"Its pronounced Poke-a-mon," Rowan corrected her. "And for your question, I am sorry to tell you I do not know." Andrea opened her mouth, but Rowan continued talking. "It is said both Palkia and Dialga live in a dimension different from our own and can only be called under special conditions. What those are I have only the barest of knowledge on. Not enough to help you."

"Then what am I supposed to do? Go around some world I apparently don't belong to without any idea who I am?" There was the slightest edge of hysteria in Andrea's voice as she voiced her concerns.

"I don't know what you can do about getting back to where you come from. Perhaps you can come to enjoy living here. As for your memories, that problem may be solvable. Connected to the two Pokemon I just told you are three more, Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie. These three are said to be able to control the great power of Palkia and Dialga should those two ever go ramped in our world. Each is supposed to reside in one of the three major lakes of this region. Uxie is said to be the Pokemon of knowledge, capable of both giving it and taking it away."

"So all I have to do is go to this lake, find this Uxie thing and get it to give back my memories? Where's the lake?" The fear of moments before had left Andrea, to be replaced by the slight inklings of hope.

"It won't be that simple. For one thing, no one has ever truly encountered these Pokemon. Only glimpse of them have ever been caught. Secondly, the lake Uxie is supposed to live in is Lake Acuity. That lake is particularly hard to reach, located at one of the farthest points north in the entire region."

"But I can still get there right?"

"It would be very difficult," Maple interjected, before Rowan could answer. Everyone may be going along with Rowan's ideas, but she had no intention of letting him get the girls hopes up when odds where so against her. "What with the wild Pokemon and other natural barriers you have to face to get there. The only people who go out to the lake are some of the stronger trainers and some locals. The area is very isolated because of the practically perpetual blizzard the place suffers from."

"But if you were a trainer, you could get there if your Pokemon were strong enough." Everyone looked over at Lucas, who blushed a bit at the attention. "Plus," he continued, "I heard that the League Champion, Cynthia, knows a lot about legendaries. I bet if you met her she could tell you something about Palkia."

"What's a League Champion?" Andrea asked, finding herself, as she had many times already that day, completely out of her depth.

"What just about every trainer aspires to be," Rowan answered with a small smile. "You see Andrea, here trainers are people who work with their Pokemon to make them stronger. The Pokemon battle each other and we, like the other regions, have a league that trainers can compete in. They must gain eight badges and then defeat Sinnoh's top four trainers, the best of the best. The person who can do this is given the title of Champion if they can beat the old Champion as well. Cynthia has been the champion for many years now."

"This Cynthia must be one hell of a trainer then," Andrea said with a low whistle.

"She is," Rowan confirmed with a nod. "She also won't part with her knowledge of the Legendary Pokemon all that easily, that's why I didn't bring her up. Even if we explained things to her I doubt she would tell us anything."

"Unless you can beat her in battle," Maple added, receiving surprised glances from everyone. After a questioning look from Rowan, she elaborated. "I knew her when I was a trainer and we've stayed in touch a bit. She hasn't really changed. She respected those who can hold their own in a Pokemon battle. And if you have her respect, she'll talk to you."

"I didn't know you were friends with Cynthia," Rowan said with a shocked expression.

"More like acquaintances," Maple replied with a shrug.

"So all I have to do is beat this League thing and get Cynthia to tell me what she knows and I might have a chance of getting back to where I belong? Would I still be able to go to this lake too?" Andrea asked.

"Actually, Lake Acuity is right near Snowpoint, which is the home to one of the gyms. If you participated in the League you would actually have to go by the place." Lucas blushed as everyone looked over at him again.

"So what do I have to do to become one of these trainers?" Andrea asked, already making plans.

"It is rather simple. You need to register at a Pokemon Center, but there's one in this town so that's not a problem. Then all you need is a starter Pokemon and you can go. Of course, you'll need to get some traveling supplies together, but the local stores should have everything you could need," Rowan informed the girl happily. "You will be starting much later than most since it is normal to start one's journey as a trainer at ten, but I'm sure you would do fine."

Maple sighed when she looked over at the girl. "I suppose you're going to do it. Go off and become a trainer just to try and prove the Professor's crazy idea true." She rubbed the bridge of her noise and let out another sigh. "Well, I guess I can help. Nothing wrong with you becoming a trainer. Rather good profession if you have enough talent for it. I'll take care of registering you since you'll need some home information and such. I'll have you use mine. I'll get traveling supplies together for you too."

"I'm glad to see we finally have your support," Rowan said with a smile to the younger woman. Maple just rolled her eyes, causing Rowan's grin to widen.

"Thanks," Andrea replied, shocked by the kindness the woman was showing. She did not know her, yet she was willing to put out a lot of effort for Andrea's sake.

"Well, that just leaves one thing then," Rowan said with a clap of his hands. "If you're feeling better, I believe its time we get you your first Pokemon my dear."

"Wait. I want to make it clear that she is not to start traveling until I think she is well enough," Maple firmly told the Professor.

"Of course, of course," Rowan replied with a wave of his hand. When he looked over at her, Andrea stood up and Rowan smiled. "Good. Follow me." Enjoying himself, Rowan led the way out of the office and into another section of the lab.

They ended up in a room Lucas had not shown to Andrea on their tour. She knew because, unlike all the others, this one was clean. No papers or other pieces of scientific equipment cluttered the room's surfaces. Over on one wall was a rack filled with little read and white balls. In the center of the room were some comfortable looking chairs, placed in a circle and facing inward. In the center of the circle was a little stand with three more of the little red and white balls resting on it.

"This is where people have been coming for years to pick one of the three main starter Pokemon of our region," Rowan explained proudly. "Here, come have a seat and you can meet the ones I have right now. You can pick the one you like the best."

As the little group entered the room, heading for the chairs, a growling came from one of the corners. Lucas and Rowan gave the corner concerned looks while Maple and Andrea gave it curious ones.

Crouching in the corner, like some threatened cat, was a little, brown, dog-like creature. The tail, tipped with tan, lashed furiously, puffed up in anger like the rest of the Pokemon's fur. Sharp teeth flashed as it brought it lips back in a snarl, long ears, the right with a large notch, were held back, close to the creature's skull. Dull eyes glared at the staring humans as if their owner was not truly seeing them but simply acting out of instinct.

"Professor, what's wrong with that Eevee?" Maple asked, giving the angry Pokemon a worried look.

Rowan sighed before replying, "Bebe from Hearthome sent her over. She said she found it suffering from some pretty bad injuries in the grass to the east of the city, near Death's door she said. The local Pokemon Center was able to heal the injuries but…" The Professor trailed off.

Lucas took up the rest of the explanation, "Eevee reacts like this if people get to close. Normally the poor thing just lies around, staring into space. Won't eat and since she won't let anyone near, we have to use hypnosis to put it asleep and feed her intravenously then."

"What happened to the poor thing? Do you know?" Maple was looking over at the Eevee pity in her eyes. The normal Pokemon had clamed down a little, the earlier growl now down to a low rumble from deep within its chest. The Pokemon's fur had stopped puffing out and the creature now looked its normal size.

"No. The injuries indicated another Pokemon was what attacked it though." Rowan sighed as he stared at the little bundle of brown fur.

"Why would a Pokemon attack another that viciously?" Maple wondered out loud.

"We have no idea."

Andrea gave the Pokemon a curious look, noticing how some of the fur on its back did not lay quite flat, as if there was something was laying underneath it. Scars, Andrea guessed, from being attacked. Those Pokemon things could be dangerous she supposed, but, from what she gathered, they were supposed to listen to whatever their trainers said…

Andrea's snort attracted the attention of the other humans in the room. "I just got here and I figured out what the puffball's problem is," she said scornfully. When all she got was blank looks she elaborated, "It probably had a trainer before and it didn't listen so the ass decided to teach the little thing who was boss."

She looked at it sympathetically, somehow knowing what it must have felt like. Trying your best, not having it be good enough, getting nothing but anger and pain in return. Following this line of thought, Andrea felt her headache coming back...

_Yelling. A loud, angry voice coming from above her. A warm, salty liquid flowed from her eyes, down her cheeks, leaving little trains in the dirt that covered them. She had tried she explained. She had done her best. More yelling, and hand coming down, gripping her small arm tightly. Then pain, pain as the whippy little stick hit her repeatedly…_

"…told us the wounds obviously came from another Pokemon," Rowan was saying as Andrea got back in touch with reality. After that little, and rather unpleasant, flashback her headache was back with a vengeance. It was probably because of the pain in her head and the fact that she was trying to come to terms with what she had just remembered that she snapped at the old man.

"Well, some people can be real bastards. Whoever it was probably just had a different Pokemon attack this one. Not hard if you got the things living in fear of you, I'm sure." Scowling, Andrea took in the shocked faces looking back at her. The adults seem to be shocked by both the idea she had suggested and the anger with which she had suggested it. Lucas seemed to be shocked about the language she had just used.

"It makes sense. You said it didn't want people near. I would be the same if someone I had trusted beat me then left me to die." They might just have for all I know, Andrea added to herself, part of her mind still stuck on what she had just remembered.

"Well, if what you are saying is right, I don't see how we are going to help her." Rowan seemed to sag a bit as he came to the realization that what Andrea had just said was probably true. "We've been doing our best before now to get Eevee to trust us. If she still doesn't trust people…"

"Maybe it's because you don't understand how its feeling," Andrea suggested. She did though, she realized, a bit at least. She looked at the Pokemon again, its dull eyes staring straight ahead, as if looking back on the horror that was its past.

The Eevee's growls returned to their earlier intensity as Andrea neared, although it did not make the effort to puff itself back up. The others were telling her to get away from the Pokemon, but Andrea had toned them out, the world now consisting of a little patch that included only herself and the Pokemon. For some reason, she felt like she could help the little thing. Not only that, she wanted to.

Kneeling down, she extended her left hand to the creature, whose growling became increasingly more menacing as the hand approached.

Suddenly, just as she was about to touch the little Pokemon's head, it bit onto the side of her hand, digging sharp teeth into her flesh. There was a gasp from behind her but Andrea just stared back calmly at the Eevee, not flinching when it dug its teeth in deeper, not trying to pull her hand out or stop it from biting her.

Andrea stared into the Eevee's eyes, ignoring the pain from the bite. The Eevee stared back, eyes still with that dull sheen of emotional pain, not truly seeing the girl she was biting. As Andrea continued to not react however, that changed. There was a brief flicker in the depths of the Pokemon's eyes and then the dull, detached look was gone, replaced first by anger, then fear as the Pokemon realized just exactly what it was doing, and finally confusion as Andrea continued to do nothing. Almost experimentally, the Pokemon bit down even harder on Andrea's hand.

"You going to let go yet?" Andrea asked in a bored voice as if there wasn't blood beginning to drip form her hand. Slowly, Eevee released her teeth, licking the blood from her lips before backing away slightly. When the Pokemon sat down to stare at Andrea, the teen brought her other hand forward, as slowly as the first.

This time her hand was able to make contact with the Pokemon's head. It flinched at the contact until Andrea stared to gently rub it behind the injured ear. "I see you're starting to show a bit of sense," Andrea said softly, rubbing behind the other ear now. "No need to be scared of me, I won't hurt you or anything. I know how you feel. Hurt, betrayed, you hate them, whoever they are. But for some reason you feel bad about that hate, don't you? And you just don't want to go though that again."

The Eevee looked up into Andrea's face, not believing this human could understand her feelings. Whatever she saw there convinced her otherwise however because she let out a soft little, "Eee," as if confirming Andrea's statement.

Shifting her weight off the balls of her feet, Andrea sat down and pulled the Pokemon onto her lap. Gently, she stroked the injured back, feeling the scars that the fur unsuccessfully hid. Her fingers were met with the feeling of long, thick lines of scar tissue, cross crossed with smaller lines that did not disturb the brown fur.

"It may be asking a lot, but how about you give me a shot hey?" Andrea finally said. "I'm new to this whole Pokemon thing but, hey, I can relate right?" She continued stroking the Pokemon.

There was a pause, as if Eevee was considering the question, and then she turned to the hand she had bitten and, apologetically, licked at the wound.

"I'll take that as a yes shall I?"

"Eeeevee," was the little Pokemon's reply.

Andrea looked up when a large shadow fell over her and the Pokemon in her lap. Looking up, she saw Rowan, staring down at her with a smile large enough to make the Cheshire Cat jealous. Standing next to him, a first aid kit in hand, was a frowning Dr. Maple.

Without a word, the doctor knelt next to the girl and grabbed the bitten hand. Wiping off the blood from the puncture wounds, Maple began to grumble to herself. "This is going to scar for sure. Can you be any more stupid? Honestly."

She was still complaining when she brought out a disinfectant and sprayed it on the hand. "Shit," exclaimed Andrea when the stinging spray touched. She tried to jerk her hand away but Maple had a firm grasp on her wrist so she was unable to get away from the doctor and her bottle of disinfectant.

"This is your own fault," the doctor told her unsympathetically, vindictively giving the injury another spray of the disinfectant before beginning to bandage the hand. "If you don't want to deal with the consequences, don't do stupid things."

Finally the hand was bandaged and Andrea flexed her fingers experimentally, frowning when the bandage restricted their movement.

"Don't even think of taking that off until I tell you," Maple ordered the teen.

"Hey, I wasn't thinking of-" Andrea began to protest.

"I work with young children all the time. I can tell when they want to do something like that."

"I'm not a little kid. I'm fuckin' seventeen."

"Then maybe you should act like it a bit more."

"Now, now ladies, enough of that," Rowan interrupted the fight. "Everything has turned out for the best. Nothing truly bad has happened to Andrea here and," here he paused, beaming, "it looks like you've finally gotten Eevee to open up."

Everyone glanced down at Eevee, still sitting on Andrea's lap. When Andrea had started to fight with Maple, the little Pokemon had sat up stiffly, bristling. Now however, she was settling herself down comfortable, quite happy with her newfound position. The anger on Andrea's face disappeared and her demeanor seemed to soften as she looked down at the little Pokemon.

"I feel having you meet the normal batch of starters would be quite useless now," Rowan commented. "I sent Lucas off to go find Eevee's pokeball, so he should be back soon."

"Hey, does she have a name? You just keep calling her Eevee. I thought that was her, like, species or something."

"It is common to simply call it a Pokemon by the name of its species, although some trainers do choose to nickname their Pokemon," Rowan informed her. "I know Dr. Maple nicknamed her Pokemon when she was younger."

"Professor, if you would, stop bringing my time as a trainer," Maple said as she stood up after putting the supplies back into the first aid kit. "What?" she asked Andrea when she looked down to see the brunet looking at her curiously.

"Just trying to imagine you do the whole trainer gig, that's all," Andrea replied around a yawn, leaning her back on the wall behind her. The day's events had finally hit her and they were hitting hard. Her back had started to ache and the second headache had only receded slightly, leaving her with a dull throb right behind the eyes, and the recently bitten hand stung. Only the whole she felt rather drained and really wanted nothing more than to sleep.

"You might as well stop. My Pokemon and I haven't battled for years." The doctor moved aside part of her lab coat, reveling six small red and white balls attached to her belt. Andrea glanced at them sleepily before the doctor dropped the coat back into place.

"Well, I think I may name this little girl here," Andrea told the adults, rubbing the Eevee behind an ear. "So," she addressed the Eevee after thinking for a short time. "What do you think of Eve?"

"Vee," came the sleepy reply.

"I'll take that as a yes," Andrea said after another yawn. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the wall.

"I don't want you sleeping there, it won't be good for you," came the doctor's voice. Andrea opened one eye and looked up at her.

She closed it again before speaking, "I'm just closing my eyes. Doesn't mean I plan on going to sleep or anything."

"Fine," came the doctor's voice, farther away this time. "The Professor and I are going to see what is taking Lucas so long. When I get back I'm taking you back to his house so you can get some proper rest."

"Whatever," Andrea said as she heard the door closing. A minute later her breathing and that of her newly named Pokemon had slowed and the occasional snore could be heard from the two of them.


	3. In Which Words are Spoken

**Chapter 3: In Which Words are Spoken**

Light filtered through closed eye lids and Andrea's mind slowly made its way from the dark depths of sleep to the planes of wakefulness. Sitting up, she stretched and yawned, pleased that her back was not stiff for once. Yawning again, she rubbed the last ruminants of sleep form her eyes.

Something besides the light had woken her up and she searched the room she had been sleeping in for the last week for its source. It was some sound, just at the cusp of hearing, some voice that she just could not make out. She had been hearing it on and off for the last week, with increasing frequency lately, but had no idea where the noise was coming from.

"Vee," came the little chirping voice from the end of the bed. Andrea rubbed at her ears because the sound was there again, overlying the noise of the Pokemon.

Reaching out, Andrea ruffled the fur on the Eevee's head. "Morning Eve," she greeted the Pokemon, who butted her head against the hand. It was still bandage wrapped, more from the doctor being overly careful than from necessity.

Giving Eve a final scratch behind the ear, Andrea swung her legs off the bed and walked over to the pile of clothes she had put out the night before. Quickly she got dressed, almost lovingly stroking a wrinkle out of the jeans she put on. Maple had taken her shopping the day before and, after a bit of argument between the two, Andrea had ended up with a new, and skirt free, wardrobe. After shaking herself out of her happy fog, Andrea finished dressing, pulling the plain green shirt over her head and leaning down to tie the laces on the new, white running shoes.

Looking out the window, Andrea debated if the weather warranted a long sleeve shirt of some kind. Bright sun shone on the world outside, but in her short time there she had learned that the area's weather could be deceptively cheery. Figuring she could take the sweater off later, Andrea reached into the pile of new clothes on the floor and pulled out a hooded sweatshirt. It was a darker green than her T-shirt and had a zipper in the front that the brunet decided to leave open.

"Come on Eve," Andrea said, inclining her head in the direction of the door. The Eevee jumped off the bed with a little "Vee," and the accompanying almost sound at the edge of Andrea's hearing and followed her trainer out the door. After a short stop to the bathroom, the two headed down the stairs where they where met by a hyper almost-ten-year-old.

Sue grabbed Andrea's un-bandaged hand after enthusiastically greeting the teen and her Pokemon. "Come on Andrea, breakfast is almost done and then I have to take you to the lab to see everyone."

"I can find my way to the kitchen," Andrea complained as she was dragged through the house. "And my way to the lab." The little girl just giggled and Andrea just scowled. The teen's very poor sense of direction had become a source of amusement for all but her and when everyone realized that her apparent ability to get lost walking down a straight road was not her being funny they appointed Sue as her official guide. This simply worsened Andrea's less than cheery disposition seeing as she not only denied her horrible sense of direction but, to put it mildly, was not very comfortable around young children.

Finally the little trio reached the well light kitchen. With its tiled floor and light blue walls, white kitchen appliances, pristine counters and airy windows it was a pleasant room. In the center of the clean room was an equally clean, round, wooden table, surrounded by six wooden chairs, the sixth obviously squeezed in with the others.

Standing with his back to the two girls was an old, bald man. He wore loose white pants and a blue shirt, the sleeves pulled up to out of his way while he cooked. A slippered foot tapped to the tune he hummed absently while he cooked. A black dog Pokemon with a close resemblance to some kind of demon lay peacefully near the man's feet, occasionally giving out a little whine in hopes of convincing the man to throw it some of the food being prepared. Andrea had learned the Pokemon was called Houndoom and that it was extremely friendly but she still chose the seat farthest from where it was laying.

"Mornin' girls," the old man greeted the two, turning around with pan in hand as he flipped the frying eggs. "Breakfast is almost up."

"Smells wonderful Grandpa," Sue replied happily as she took her own seat. Andrea gave a grunt that might have been an agreement as she continued to give the Houndoom a slightly wary look. Eve, not suffering from her trainer's inhibitions, walked past the other Pokemon to one of the blue plastic bowls filled with Pokefood and began happily eating her own breakfast.

After a brief time of silence, broken only by the crunch of Pokefood between sharp teeth and the unknown tune Sue's grandfather hummed, the old man came over to the table, carrying two plates with freshly cooked eggs and toast. He placed the meals in front of the girls before heading back to the counter and bringing them back cups of orange juice and silverware. They both thanked him and began eating as he cleaned up.

The two were still eating as the old man, having exchanged his house slippers for a pair of brown loafers, began heading for the door, the Houndoom following at his master's heels. "I'll be at Old Jacob's house girls. Clean up when you're done."

"Alright Grandpa, see you," Sue replied, waving goodbye with the hand that still held her fork. The door closed softly as the old man and his Pokemon left, leaving the two girls to finish their meal. Sue talked between bites, seeming not to care that the only responses she was getting from the older girl were noncommittal grunts.

Finally the two finished and cleaned up the dishes from their meal. That task done, Sue grabbed Andrea's hand again and, despite Andrea's protests that she could find the place just fine, began dragging her in the direction of the lab. Eve was close behind with a constant commentary that was accompanied by the odd almost noise that Andrea was beginning to take as normal.

They reached the lab a short time later, despite Andrea's insistence that they were going the wrong way the entire time. They had only just entered the building when they were greeted by a smiling Professor Rowan.

"Glad to see you two. Sue, why don't you go help your father with the Pokemon?"

"Okay," the little girl agreed enthusiastically, rushing away from the two.

Indicating for Andrea to follow him, Rowan began walking towards his office. "Eve looks like she is doing well," the Professor commented as the two walked, looking down at the brown Pokemon.

"Yeah, she 's been doing better. Eating enough and all that," Andrea replied, glancing fondly down at her Pokemon.

"I'm glad to see you two are getting along so well," the Professor remarked as he opened the door to his office. Sitting on a chair with a stack of papers next to it was Dr. Maple, Lucas standing near one of the walls. Both looked up when Rowan and Andrea entered the room.

"Oh good, you're both here," Rowan said with a smile. "Well, I believe we can get down to business then." Andrea just rolled her eyes and sighed, wondering what was going on today. She had been spending most of her time in the lab, being taught about Pokemon and was getting rather impatient to actually get on her way. The people of Sandgem were nice enough but she would be glad when it was just herself and Eve.

"Now, Andrea, we've been teaching you about this world of ours and the creatures that inhabit it. During this time both you and Eve have been healing from your experiences. Both the Doctor and I feel the two of you are healthy and informed enough to start your journey."

Here Maple took up the dialog, "I've got your bag right here," she explained, holding up the pack in question. It was a sturdy looking back pack with numerous pockets and was a dull red, bordering on maroon.

"Your trainer ID is here," she continued, tossing a case to Andrea. The teen caught and opened the case, reading over the information on the card and looked at the headshot.

"What's up with the holes?" Andrea asked, indicating the different shaped holes in the foam on the bottom half of the case.

"Those are the places where you put your badges," Rowan explained. "Each is shaped to fit a specific gym."

"So, this mean I can finally head out?" Andrea asked, turning the case around in her hands.

"Well, you still need to pack your clothes, but everything else you need is in the bag," Maple informed her.

"Plus you'll have to wait for Lucas to get his own things together, but that shouldn't take to long since I had his parents get a pack together for him. All he should need is some clothing himself," Rowan informed them.

"What?" yelled the two teens simultaneously.

"Professor, I have to stay here to help," Lucas protested.

"I don't need to be babysat. Especially by someone younger than me," Andrea angrily informed the Professor.

Rowan held up his hands to stop any further protests. "Now come on you two. I feel Lucas could use some horizon widening and his parents agree. I figured now would be the best time to send him off, so he could help you out a bit Andrea."

"I for one think it is an excellent idea," Maple interjected. "You need a level head to make sure you don't do anything dangerous." Andrea just frowned at the doctor, who returned her look.

"Well," Rowan said with a clap of his hands, "Lucas, you go get your pack from your parents. Then you and Andrea can go back to your house and finish packing. Come back here before you go. There are a few last things you need before you head out."

"Yes doctor," Lucas agreed with a sigh. Without further protest, Lucas left the room. After a bit of grumbling, Andrea grabbed her new bag and followed him out.

~~**~~**~~**~~

As Andrea followed Lucas back to the lab she tired to attach Eve's Pokeball to the belt she had found in the pack earlier. After a few choice curse words that Lucas pointedly ignored, the thing snapped into place.

"Most people carry their Pokemon in their Pokeballs," Lucas informed her as they continued walking. The lab was in sight and they could both see the figures of Rowan, Maple, and Lucas's family standing in front of the door.

"Guess I'm not most people," Andrea retorted. "I like Eve walking around." She smiled down at her Pokemon, who replied with a chirping "Eee."

"Good, you two finally got back," Rowan said happily once they were in earshot. "Now, first things first. Here." Reaching into the pockets of his lab coat, he pulled out two red devices, handing one to both teens. "A Pokedex for each of you. Now, while you travel, I want you to do me a favor. You need to see as many Pokemon as you can and record them on those Pokedexes for me."

"Should have known there was some strings attached," Andrea mumbled while Lucas devotedly replied, "Yes Professor."

"Here Son," Lucas's father said, stepping up. "We got you this." He handed Lucas a piece of paper that the boy unfolded to show a large map.

"Thanks Dad," Lucas replied happily.

"We got one for you too," Lucas's father added, turning to Andrea and handing her a map. She thanked him and shoved the thing into a jean pocket.

"Excellent. Now, one last thing before you young adventures head off, just to make sure Andrea here has a hang of the basics. I think you two should have a little battle. Just one on one."

"Are you sure Professor?" Lucas asked worriedly, looking over at the older teen and her Eevee.

"Quite. It'll be good for all. Now, why don't you release your Pokemon and we can begin?"

With a shrug, Lucas reached for one of the three Pokeballs at his own belt. He easily unclipped one and enlarged it before throwing the red and white sphere into the air. With a flash of red light, a small, humanoid creature with blue-grey skin materialized.

"Machop," it yelled, flexing the muscles on its arms. Rolling her eyes at the other Pokemon's antics, Eve stepped forward, tail swishing calmly.

"Ready?" Rowan questioned, holding an arm in the air. Both trainers nodded and he brought his hand down, "Let the battle begin."

"Machop, low kick," commanded Lucas. With a nod, the Machop rushed Eve, aiming a devastating kick for the smaller Pokemon.

"Dodge, counter with tackle," Andrea ordered.

Eve quickly dodged to the side, the kick hitting the ground where she had just been and sending up a shower of dirt. While Machop was regaining its composure from the missed attack, Eve turned and barreled into the other Pokemon, pushing it off balance.

"Machop, focus energy," Lucas shouted. His Pokemon obeyed, glowing slightly as it gathered its energy. Finally the glow faded and Machop flexed its muscled again.

"Chooop," the Pokemon yelled, looking energized. "Good, now karate chop," Lucas ordered.

"Dodge it," Andrea shouted.

Eve nodded and moved off to the side as the other Pokemon charged her. Machop was ready this time and changed the direction of its attack at the last second, bringing the side of its hand down hard on Eve's side. Eve squeaked in pain as she was throw to the ground but quickly regained her footing.

"Karate chop again." Machop aimed another attack at the Eevee, once more hitting its mark as Eve, slowed by the damage from the last attack, failed to get out of the way. Eve swayed slightly, trying to stay in an upright position.

"Looks like a critical hit," the Professor commented. "I'd recall Eve if I were you Andrea." Andrea looked at the little brown Pokemon, struggling to stand as her legs shook and panting heavily. Then she looked into the Pokemon's eyes and shook her head.

"No. Eve, tackle again and bite."

Finally getting her feet under her, Eve charged forward, knocking the other Pokemon over. She bit down on Machop's arm, although that seemed to have less effect than the tackle. Letting go, leaving a little ring of teeth marks, Eve backed off quickly as Machop tried to hit her over the head.

Lucas looked worriedly at Eve, but continued the battle. "Machop, finish her off with low kick."

Once more, Eve's opponent aimed a powerful kick at her. Eve moved out of the way but still received a glancing blow. She staggered forward and fell to the ground, letting out a frustrated "Eee."

Andrea looked at Machop, watching as it breathed heavily and rubbed at the arm Eve had bitten. "Eve, come on girl, get up. I know you can." Eve looked over at her trainer, panting. Then, as if the girl's encouragement had given her new strength, she struggled back to her feet.

"Good. Now, one more tackle." Upon her trainer's command, Eve rushed forward, barreling into the other Pokemon and knocking it over again. For added measure, Eve dug her teeth into the other Pokemon's side before backing off. Machop stayed on the ground until Lucas recalled it in a flash of red light.

Andrea rushed forward and scooped up a panting Eve, who had collapsed to the ground once the battle was over. The little Pokemon licked gently at her trainers face as Andrea told her how wonderfully she had done.

"Andrea, the way you pushed Eve just now was the embodiment of foolishness. That was dangerous. She could have gotten severely injured," Rowan informed her angrily. Andrea opened her mouth to retort, but, a bit surprisingly, Maple came to her defense.

"You're wrong Professor. Andrea did just the right thing for Eve. Think about it. That Pokemon has probably suffered from some extreme emotional scaring that would have left, among other things, confidence issues. To start off this new life with her first battle as a loss would have been devastating."

Rowan harrumphed, but his features softened. "I see what you mean Maple. I suppose you did do the right thing Andrea. Just don't do it again."

"Whatever," Andrea replied, a bit angry that he would think she would put Eve in danger.

"Well, I believe with that you two can be off. Stop at the Pokemon Center before you leave."

Lucas said goodbye to his family and Andrea stood off to the side, waiting impatiently. Sue came over while she was waiting and looked up at the older girl with what might be considered hero worship. Andrea looked down with what might be considered exasperation.

"That was so cool Andrea. Hey," she whispered, "I heard on the TV that there is a flock of Pidgey on Route 203. I want you to do better than my brother Lucas, so you should catch one."

"I'll keep that in mind," Andrea replied, adjusting her hold on Eve, who had fallen asleep in her arms. Sue smiled and rushed back to the small family gathering to tell her brother how both she and Andrea would be better than him at Pokemon training. Andrea just rolled her eyes at the little girl's antics.

Finally Lucas's family was done with their goodbyes and the two teens started out for the Pokemon Center. Before they were completely out of hearing, Maple shouted. "You had better be careful Andrea. Lucas is calling back to his family as you two travel, so I'll know." Andrea just sighed and continued walking.

~~**~~**~~**~~

"Andrea, we have to go this way," Lucas informed his traveling companion, pointing in the way they were supposed to be heading. "The sign said this was the way to Jubilife." He tugged nervously at the brim of his red beret as the older teen looked over at him.

Without a word, Andrea turned and followed behind Lucas. They had stopped at the Pokemon Center before leaving, but that had been a couple of hours ago. Now the sun was getting distinctly lower in the sky and the two of them were trudging through one of the large patches of long grass that seemed to cover non-inhabited areas. As Andrea walked on she brought a hand up to her shoulder to help steady Eve.

Eve had found that she was small enough to perch on Andrea's shoulder and had been riding there since they had set out, something that did not bug the brunet since she worried her Pokemon might get lost in the tall grass. Eve rubbed against her trainers hand and let out one of her little chirping noise which was accompanied by its usually background noise. Andrea listened, swearing she almost heard a thank you. Shaking her head in frustration, she walked faster to catch up with Lucas.

"So, how long is it supposed to take to get to Jubilife?" she asked, hoping to distract herself from what she was starting to take as a sign that there was more wrong with her head than originally believed.

"Well, the normal journey, at an average walking pace, takes two, maybe three, days." Andrea was about to respond when there was a rustling in the grass in front of them. Holding up a hand for silence, Lucas stepped forward.

Out of the grass came a Bidoof, munching happily on a piece of grass. It looked up at the two trainers and bared sharp, herbivore teeth. Lucas reached slowly for his belt and withdrew a Pokeball, enlarging it with equal slowness.

"Andrea, I'm going to show you how to catch a Pokemon okay? You'll need six if you want any chance against the Elite Four later."

Andrea just sighed as Lucas threw his Pokeball, releasing a Chimchar in a flash of red light. She knew telling the younger boy that she could figure out how to catch a Pokemon on her own would be useless. He would treat the statement the same way he had the one that she could find her way to the next town by herself.

Lucas's Chimchar made quick work of the Bidoof, weakening it to the point where it was without any energy to escape. Taking off his pack, Lucas reached into one of the pockets and pulled out a Pokeball, which he enlarged and threw. The ball shook slightly before it became still with a little red light and a _ding_. The entire time this was happening, Lucas was giving Andrea a running commentary on how best to catch a Pokemon.

Recalling his Chimchar, Lucas picked up the latest addition to his team, snapping the Pokeball into one of the empty slots on his belt. "So, you need any Pokeballs?" Lucas asked, turning to Andrea. "Mom and Dad gave me plenty, so I could give you some."

"No, I'm good. Dr. Maple put, like, five in my pack. I checked earlier." The two began walking again, Lucas happily patting the Pokeball that held his newest partner.

"Well, you should buy some more when we get to Jubilife. Most Pokemon don't get caught that easily, especially as you travel farther into the region, so it could take a few Pokeballs to catch one. Anyway, you should try catching the next Pokemon we come across."

"I'll think about it," Andrea replied reluctantly. "Anyway, how am I supposed to get money to buy this stuff? The good doctor gave me some, but I don't want to keep asking her since I already feel like I'm deep in debt."

Lucas had pulled out a map while they were walking and was looking at it closely. "The solution is easy," he replied, still reading his map. "It's customary for trainers to give each other some money if they lose a Pokemon battle. You don't have to give a lot but some of the more experienced trainers will give you more money since they've had more time to amass it. That money can be a trainer's only source of income in many cases."

Andrea looked down at her feet, thinking about what she had just been told. "So," Andrea said slowly after awhile, "how much do you think the trainers around here would be giving out?" No response came, so Andrea looked up. Looking around, her eyes were completely and utterly unmet by the sight of a boy in a red beret. "Shit, he wandered off."

Farther up the trail, Lucas looked up from his map at some trees. "How about we stop here for the night? It's a bit early but-" The sentence died in his mouth when he realized he was talking to himself. "Oh no, I lost her. What am I going to tell everyone?"

As Lucas searched the nearby area frantically for his directionally challenged traveling companion, Andrea was wandering farther away. She was not all that concerned by the fact she and Lucas had become separated and was only looking for him half-heartedly. She was wondering if she should just take it as a sign to ditch him when the grass in front of her exploded in a burst of noise and feathers.

A grey and white blur had burst from the grass, startled by the nearness of the trainer. The wild Pokemon beat its powerful wings in Andreas face, forcing the teen to throw her arms up to protect herself. "What the hell?" she exclaimed as the Pokemon continued to beat at her with its wings.

The commotion disturbed Eve, who had fallen asleep on her trainers shoulder. Eve launched herself at the Starly, pinning the other Pokemon to the ground after a brief tussle. The Starly struggled to get Eve off of it but failed, eventually giving up in exhaustion. Eve growled menacingly at her defeated opponent before backing off slowly.

The Starly hopped back to its feet and glared at Eve before taking off with a loud flapping of wings and a raucous cawing. It was soon nothing more than a black blob in the distance sky, the only sign that it had been there a few grey feathers left in the dirt.

Andrea walked over to Eve, bending down so she could stroke her savior's head. "Thanks Eve."

"_No Problem_," the little Pokemon replied happily, rubbing against her trainer's hand. Andrea was about to reply when her hand stopped in mid stroke, eyes wide, face pale.

"Did you just say something?" Andrea asked, hoping the answer would be nothing more than the usual "Vee."

"_Uhh…Yeah. I normally say some-_" the little Pokemon stopped talking abruptly, realizing what was going on. "_Wait, you can understand me?_"

"Yeah. I'm guessing by your reaction that that's not normal." Eve just shook her head, looking a bit worried.

"_I don't think it is, but I could be wrong. Maybe. Probably not,_" Eve eventually informed her trainer. Andrea found that the odd noise that had been at the edge of her hearing for days was finally gone. Unfortunately it seemed to be replaced by her newfound talent.

Andrea sighed, standing up and looking at the surrounding. "Great, now I'm even more of a freak," she mumbled under her breath.

"_You're not a freak_," Eve told her with conviction. "_So you can understand me, so what? You're still, you're still…_" Eve trained off, trying to think of a way to express her feelings. "_You're still Andrea_," she finished, as if that answered everything.

"Eve, I told you why I'm going to challenge this league thing, right?" Andrea questioned her Pokemon after a brief pause.

"_To find something out, right? You didn't go into much detail._" The little Pokemon looked up at the girl who she had become deeply attached to in the short time they had known each other. Something was off, she could feel it.

"I want to find out about some Pokemon called Palkia, which I guess I can't do without beating this league. You know why I want to find out about this Pokemon?" Andrea did not wait for a response from her partner, instead continuing with her explanation, her voice becoming angry. "Because I'm not from around here. The Professor says I'm not even from this world. Eve, I can't even remember who I am." The last part came out with a choked sob, although when Eve looked at her trainer's face she saw no sign of tears.

There was a long pause before Andrea spoke again. "So now you know what's up. If you want to go find a normal trainer I'll under-"

"_I thought you smelled different_," Eve interrupted. Andrea looked down at her Pokemon, shock evident on her face. "_Since you come from a different world, that would explain why you don't smell like anyone else_," Eve explained.

"And this doesn't bother you?"

"_No. Why should it? Andrea, you're my trainer and let me tell you, you are a definite improvement over my last one._" Eve shivered, thinking about her previous owner.

Andrea knelt down and scooped up her partner, holding her close to her chest. "You want to tell me what happened?"

"_He just_," Eve began, pausing as another shiver coursed through her body. "_He just wanted me to evolve and I didn't._ _He was trying to use a thunderstone and I bit him. Never thought of my feelings. He had Drapion attack me._" Andrea listened as Eve's voice became quieter, hugging her tighter when the little Pokemon paused. "_I don't blame Drapion_," Eve finished softly.

"Well, if we ever come across that asshole, I'll give him something to think about. And then I'll report him for Pokemon abuse or something." Andrea rubbed Eve behind her notched ear, trying to calm the shivers that were sporadically coursing through her companion.

"_Would you mind if I never wanted to evolve?_" Eve asked suddenly.

Andrea looked down at the bundle of brown and tan fur in her arms. She sighed, her breath ruffling the fur. "Now why would I care? If you don't mind me being from a different world, I don't see why you wanting to stay the way you are should bug me. I don't even get the whole Pokemon evolution thing anyways."

"_I could be stronger if I evolved_," Eve pointed out.

"Are you trying to convince me to evolve you or something?" Andrea asked with some impatience.

"_No, it's just_," Eve gulped before continuing, "_I just don't feel ready, but I want to prove that I'm strong and help you and-_"

"Look, Eve, you can stay just the way you are and be a big help." Andrea stood up, still holding her Pokemon. "We'll do just fine. I'll find out about who I am and you'll prove that you can be strong with or without evolving, whichever you want. We can do both by beating this league thing, so lets just continue with what we're doing."

Andrea started walking again, still clutching Eve. As they walked, the wind came up from behind, blowing Andrea's hair into her face. Eve looked up and sniffed as her trainer navigated the complicated task of keeping her hair out of her face and holding a Pokemon at the same time.

"_We're going the wrong way_," Eve informed her trainer. The conversation from earlier had not been forgotten, but both had come to the silent agreement that, for now at least, enough had been said.

"How can you tell?" Andrea asked a bit grumpily, spiting out a strand of hair.

"'_Cause I can smell Lucas behind us_," Eve answered, still sniffing the air. Andrea turned and began walking the other way. Occasionally Eve would tell her to turn a bit to the right or left and generally did a good job of getting the brunet back to their traveling companion.

By the time the boy came into sight the sun had nearly set. He let out a shout when he saw the older teen, rushing over through the tall grass. When he finally reached her, Lucas stopped to catch his breath, Andrea raising an eyebrow as if she could not fathom what he was so worked up about.

"I couldn't find you anywhere," Lucas accused Andrea once his breath had returned. "I searched all over the place."

"You should be more careful about getting lost next time then," Andrea replied. "So," she continued, ignoring his incredulous look, "Are we stopping around here for the night?"

Shaking his head in exasperation, Lucas answered. "No, there's a spot a bit ahead that I thought might do. We can stop there and get an early start tomorrow." He pointed ahead of them.

"Sounds good," Andrea replied with a nod. She began walking in the direction he had indicated until Lucas caught up and told her they needed to head more to the right. After that the younger boy led the way to their campsite.

Once they reached the spot near the trees, the two set up camp and prepared a quick meal. After a short dinner, the conversation mainly consisting of odd questions from Andrea about talking Pokemon, the two went to bed, prepared for whatever adventures the next day planned to throw at them.

--------------------------------------------------------

AN: Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing so far, I really appreciate it. As for the question about my use of the word 'hazarded,' I use it like 'hazarded a guess.' I could have sworn I've seen it used like that before, but I'm probably wrong. Also, no, Dr. Maple is not supposed to one of Rowan's other assistants. Anyway, thanks again everyone, I hope you all like the story so far.


	4. In Which Munchkin Land is Visited

**Chapter 4: In Which Munchkin Land is Visited**

"Look Andrea, you need to catch some more Pokemon. Eve is fine and all, but you're going to need more Pokemon if you want any chance in the League." Lucas was walking behind his traveling companion, thinking they were safe from being lost for once since Jubilife was in plain view ahead of them. The trip had taken four days, the added time because Lucas had made the lapse in judgment of letting Andrea lead a few times. He had though it would be fine if she was using the map but…

"Okay fine, but why do I need to catch one of the Pokemon around here?" Andrea asked without looking back. Eve was sitting on her shoulder as usual, looking back at the other trainer.

"Because the Pokemon around here are easiest to train," Lucas explained. "Come on, please. I'm supposed to help you. Why don't you catch a Bidoof?" He was pleading now, and he knew it, but continued on, hoping the older girl would give.

"No," Andrea replied simple.

"A Starly?"

"Definitely not." Eve growled at the mention of Sinnoh's most common bird Pokemon.

"Well, how about a Shinx?"

"I don't even know what one of those are."

"You could catch-"

Andrea stopped and turned around sharply, bringing a hand up to steady Eve. "Look, if I agree catch the next wild Pokemon we come across, will you shut the hell up?"

"Yeah," Luca agreed, nodding his head. Andrea just glared before turning around and marching off into some of the nearby tall grass. "Don't go too far," Lucas called. The only response he received was a shouted curse word.

Andrea marched into the long grass, looking for any of the telltale signs of a wild Pokemon. Eve had turned around on her shoulder and was watching for any Pokemon as well.

"_Over there_," the little Pokemon whispered, indicating some shaking grass with a nod of her head. Andrea nodded in acknowledgment and quietly began to walk up to the patch of grass.

Before she got to close, a blue, lion like creature jumped out at her, knocking her to the ground. Without a word, Eve jumped on the other Pokemon before Andrea had even hit the ground, digging sharp teeth into its shoulder. The little blue cat let out a shriek and bucked, flinging Eve off.

"Good job Eve, now go in for a tackle," Andrea ordered, digging through her pack in search of a Pokeball. While she was doing that, Eve charged the other Pokemon, who dodged and tackled Eve. The two Pokemon ended up rolling around on the ground, biting and growling, or, in the blue lion's case, hissing.

As Andrea looked up, enlarged Pokeball in hand, Eve finally broke away from the fray and charged her dazed opponent. Her tackle made contact this time and the other Pokemon fell to the ground, unable to move. Andrea quickly threw the Pokeball at the unconscious Pokemon. The ball shook slightly, then stopped with a little red light and a soft _ding_.

"There, that should get the kid off my back," Andrea said, walking over to grab the Pokeball. After some fiddling, she shrank it and, after a bit more difficulty, attached it to her belt next to Eve's ball.

Eve sat on the ground, licking at her shoulder, a pleased look on her face. Andrea came over and ruffled the fur on her head before returning the little Pokemon to her customary shoulder perch.

"_That went well_," Eve commented in a pleased voice as they began heading back in the direction of Lucas, who was standing worriedly at the edge of the grass.

"I think it did," Andrea agreed as the met back up with Lucas.

Lucas looked over at the two, curious. "What did Eve say?"

While they had been traveling for the last few days, Andrea had been asking him some thinly veiled questions about trainers being able to talk to their Pokemon. That, along with Andrea's new habit of responding to Eve as if she had understood exactly what the little Pokemon had said, resulted in Lucas guessing that, somehow, Andrea could communicate with her Pokemon. Instead of finding it weird, as Andrea had expected him to, his first reaction was to ask questions and test out her new ability by seeing if she could talk to his Pokemon. It had turned out that she could not, but Lucas was still fascinated.

"Just that things went well," Andrea replied as they started off for the city again.

"What you catch anyway?" Lucas asked, looking at the newest addition to her belt. "I saw you fall, so it couldn't be a Bidoof. Not big enough to knock a person down."

"Some blue cat thing," Andrea answered as they walked into the city.

Lucas nodded knowingly. "A Shinx. Electric type, they can evolve two other times without any outside help from such things as stones."

"Thank you Mr. Encyclopedia," Andrea responded as she looked around at their surroundings.

They had just come from the dirt paths and grass of Route 202 and were now on the paved sidewalk of the city. The tar of the rode glimmered slightly in the heat of the noonday sun, a car going by slowly ahead of them. Large buildings dominated the skyline, one of them covered in satellite dishes. Despite the size and general overwhelming feeling that the city gave off, the place was pleasant, interspersed with the occasional smaller building and some decorative fountains and patches of trees and grass and flowers.

More people than Andrea could remember ever seeing milled around them, all walking in their different directions. Some in business suites, talking into cell phones and rushing off to whatever urgent business they had to attend to, briefcases in hand. Young children, some with parents, some without, all in large groups no matter what and all seeming to have a good time and feeling safe. Obvious city dwellers mixed with people obviously from out of town, all of varying genders, ages, heights, you name it, and a person with that quality was there.

And then there were those with the obvious marks of a trainer who had just reached town. Clothes dirty and rumpled, perhaps unchanged for days, but made for traveling. A slight look of weariness from whatever long travels they had been on. Plus, there were the telltale packs, ranging from duffle bags to backpacks, in every possible color of the rainbow.

And through all of that, Pokemon could be found, living quite happily with the people. The occasional Pokemon sticking close to there owner, or surrounded by a group of laughing children, most likely instructed by a concerned parent to keep their child safe. Following devotedly behind a trainer or clinging to a shoulder as Eve was Andrea's.

"Here we are," Lucas said, bringing Andrea back to what was happening directly in front of her. "The Pokemon Center. We can heal up our Pokemon and get a place to stay for the night. I can give Mom and Dad a call too."

"How much is this going to cost?" Andrea asked skeptically, looking up at the building. It was read and white like a Pokeball and had a large red P superimposed over a white Pokeball over the door.

"The only thing we have to pay for are our meals," Lucas happily informed her as they entered the building. "Pokemon Centers are free. Things get paid for by things like the fund raising each center does and they get money for processing trainer's licenses and stuff."

Andrea looked around the Pokemon Center as the doors closed automatically behind them with a little _whoomp_. The floor was white linoleum with a tiled Pokeball in the center of the room. A row of chairs were lined up near the wall by the entrance, some occupied by bored looking trainers. In front of the chairs was placed a table piled high with worn looking magazines. There were hallways leading off to different parts of the building and a set of stairs to the right, one leading up, the other down. Directly across from the entrance was a large counter being operated by a few women in nurse outfits.

It was to this counter that Lucas led Andrea. He waited behind another trainer who handed her Pokeballs over to a pink haired nurse before walking away. Once the other trainer left Lucas stepped up, pleasantly greeting the pink haired woman who appeared to be the head nurse.

"Hello Nurse Joy. My friend and I would like to get our Pokemon healed up."

"Of course young man," Nurse Joy replied pleasantly. Hurrying through some doors behind the counter, she came back carrying two trays with little indentations for Pokeballs. Lucas unclipped his Pokeballs and placed them into the tray, Andrea doing the same with the Pokeball that housed her newest Pokemon. Eve jumped off of Andrea's shoulder onto the counter, where she sat looking at the nurse.

"Oh, isn't she a cutie?" Nurse Joy cooed, scratching Eve behind the ear. "What happened to her though?" she asked in concern, taking in the notch in Eve's ear and the patches where scars kept her fur from laying flat.

"She had an abusive trainer before but Andrea rescued her," Lucas explained to a concerned Joy.

Joy looked sadly down at the little Pokemon, continuing to rub behind her ear. "You poor thing. Well, at least you have a better home now." Eve said nothing, instead glaring at Lucas for bringing the whole matter up. "Well, I'll just need your names and I'll take care of your Pokemon. It should only be an hour or two."

Lucas gave Joy the information she needed and the nurse disappeared behind the doors again, carrying the trays while Eve following at her heals.

"Hey, wasn't there a Nurse Joy who looked just like that back in Sandgem? They twins or something?" Andrea asked as they headed to a different part of the counter, walking to the end of another line.

Lucas shook his head. "They're not twins, although they are related. Joy is the family name you see and being a Pokemon nurse is some kind of family job for the females. They all sort of look alike but I think some of them dye their hair that color."

As they waited in line, Lucas spotted a line of video phones in a nearby hallway. "Hey Andrea, could you wait in line and get us a place to stay for the night? I want to go call Mom and Dad and tell them we got here okay."

Andrea just waved her hand in a little go on motion and Lucas left the line, walking over to an empty phone booth. Sitting down, he dialed the number to the lab, the place he was most likely to contact a family member at during that time of the day.

The screen was blank as the phone piece he held to his ear rang a few times. When someone picked up and the screen came to life, Lucas was met by the face of his father. "Hey Dad," Lucas greeted happily.

"Hi Lucas," his father retuned the greeting with a smile. "Did you two just get to Jubilife? You're a bit later than we thought you would be."

Lucas reddened slightly before answering. "Yeah we got a bit lost on the way. Anyway, how is everyone else? Is anyone else there?"

Lucas's father shook his head. "Sorry, just me working with the Professor today. I'll tell everyone you called though. So, catch anything?"

"Yeah, a Bidoof," Lucas told his father. He spent some time going on about what had happened on his way to the city until another voice was heard on his father's end.

"Is that Lucas?" came the voice of Professor Rowan. A few seconds later the older man's face appeared on the screen along side his father's. "How are you?"

"Fine Professor."

"Good, good," Rowan said with a smile and a nod.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me Lucas? Because I can leave you to talk to the Professor now if you are."

"Yeah, I'm done Dad. I'll call when we get to the next town. We should be heading for Oreburgh next." Lucas's father nodded, said goodbye and left. Before Rowan could begin talking to his assistant, the face of Dr. Maple appeared on the screen.

"Hello Lucas, is everything going well?" Maple greeted him.

"Hello Doctor. Yes everything is fine."

"Glad to hear it. You can tell Andrea she should be able to take off that bandage now."

Lucas looked over his shoulder worriedly, spotting Andrea at the front of the line answering the nurse's questions with a bored expression. Now comfortable with the fact that the brunet would not catch him tattling on her, he turned back t o the screen. "She actually took the bandage off the moment we left town."

Maple sighed, the expression of the long suffering on her face. "I should have known. Well, looks like the two of you made it there in one piece at any rate."

"We did. Umm…I have something to tell the two of you." Lowering his voice, Lucas leaned closer to the screen, as if that would somehow stop anyone from overhear what he was about to say. "Andrea, she can talk to Pokemon." All he got was disbelieving looks from the two adults, so he felt it was necessary to add, "Well, just Eve actually but still."

Rowan rubbed his chin, looking off into space. "That is interesting. Is that the only development. Nothing else new with the girl?" Lucas just shook his head. "Well, call us when you get to the next town and let us know if she remembers something or if there are any more developments in this new power of hers."

"I will Professor," Lucas replied loyally.

"Glad to hear it. Oh, and while you're in Jubilife, stop at the trainer's school. I have something there for you to pick up. You two stay safe now. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Professor. Doctor."

"Goodbye Lucas. Try to keep that girl out of too much trouble." With Maple's parting words, the screen went black and the phone let out a dial tone, the connection ended. Hanging up the phone, Lucas turned around, nearly walking into Andrea a few steps away from the phone booth.

"That took forever," Andrea said grumpily in way of greeting. "The nurse had to see my license and then I had to confirm my address. It took me forever to remember what that doctor put down."

"You did get us a room though, right?" Lucas asked, beginning to lead them to the cafeteria.

"Yeah, right here." Andrea dug into a jean pocket and pulled out a key and a crumpled piece of paper. "Room 10. It's got two bunk beds, so the nurse said we're sharing it with another pair of trainers. Anyway, how'd your call home go?"

"Fine. I got to talk to my Dad." Lucas wondered if he should mention that he had also talked to the Professor and Doctor. Andrea did not inquire further about his call however, since they had just entered the cafeteria and joined the lunch line.

They got through the line, each with a tray holding a sandwich, a bag of chips and a fruit juice. The two wandered around the cafeteria a bit, looking for a free table in the crowd of trainers. They finally found one, recently vacated, and sat down facing each other.

"Not very expensive," Andrea commented as she unwrapped her sandwich. "Although I'm still glad we came across all those trainers on our way here. It's good to have the extra cash."

"You didn't need to battle all of them. I honestly thought Eve was going to faint," Lucas reprimanded before taking a bite of his own sandwich.

"They're the ones who were going on about how we made eye contact and were honor bound to battle and all that shit," Andre grumbled around her lunch. Lucas just sighed and the two ate in silence. Around them groups of trainers laughed and chattered, showed off Pokemon and generally enjoyed their chances to relax indoors.

Having finished off her sandwich and chips, Andrea was just breaking the seal on her drink when Lucas spoke up. "Oh, we need to head to the trainer's school while we're here. Professor Rowan wanted me to pick something up."

Andrea took a sip of her drink before answering. "Sounds good. I need to pick up some more supplies right? We can do that too." Lucas nodded and the two finished their lunch, hurrying away with their trays to make room for another group of trainers. Throwing away their trash and placing their trays with others near the garbage can, they headed back to the vestibule to pick up their Pokemon.

Nurse Joy was just coming out with their Pokemon when the two reached the counter. The nurse smiled and handed over their Pokemon, Eve jumping over to Andrea's shoulder. Lucas thanked Joy and they left.

"_Are you going to give the Shinx a name too?_" Eve asked as they left the florescent lights of the center for the brighter sun. Lucas and Andrea moved away form the entrance as their eyes adjusted to the light.

"That sounds like a good idea. I don't want to just go around calling it Shinx. Hey Lucas," Andrea said, turning to the boy, who was already heading in the direction of a nearby blue roofed building. "Hold up a sec."

Walking back over to Andrea, he watched as she unclipped the Shinx's Pokeball, with much more ease he noted, and released the Pokemon. The little blue cat Pokemon stretched and yawned, looking up at Andrea.

"Shhiii," the blue Pokemon said plainly, still looking at Andrea.

"_She asked if you're her trainer_," Eve informed her, looking down at the other Pokemon. After a brief pause, she hopped down from Andrea's shoulder and landed next to the Shinx. The two eyed each other warily for a second before the Shinx came over and sniffed cautiously at Eve.

"Yeah, I guess I'm your trainer," Andrea told the Shinx, who looked up again with another "Shhii."

"_She said 'Hello then'_," Eve translated. "_Yeah, she can understand me_," Eve commented to the Shinx after it made a little inquisitive noise. "_I'm Eve by the way, and that's Andrea, our trainer. The dork with the red beret is Lucas._"

"What are they saying?" Lucas whispered while keeping an eye out to make sure no one was paying their little gathering any attention.

"Just introducing us and stuff," Andrea said with a wave of her hand, trying to hide a smile at Eve's comment about Lucas.

"_She says she doesn't mind you giving her a name_," Eve interrupted the two humans after having explained the situation to the Shinx. The Shinx looked expectantly up at Andrea as the girl stared back.

"She doesn't have a name already or something?" Andrea asked.

Eve shook her head, "_No. Pokemon don't really go around naming each other like people. We normally just call each other by our species. We always know who we're talking to._"

"Okay then," Andrea said slowly, rubbing her chin in thought. "I'm not sure what to call you though," Andrea informed the little blue Pokemon.

"How about Zora," Lucas suggested. When everyone looked over at him, he explained. "Well, it means, like, dawn or something like that. And by catching Shinx your journey as a trainer can finally be called started. And since dawn is considered the _start_ of the day, it makes sense." He trailed off as everyone just continued to stare.

"_I told you he was a dork_," Eve mumbled to the Shinx.

"That was such lame reasoning," Andrea said bluntly. "But," she continued as Lucas started to turn red, "I like the name. How about our little blue friend?"

"Shhiinnx," the little Pokemon replied happily.

"_She likes it_," Eve translated unnecessarily.

Andrea nodded and smiled. "Zora it is. Now," she held up the newly named Zora's Pokeball, "you don't mind retuning to your Pokeball do you?" Zora shook her head and Andrea smiled again. Pushing a button on the ball, Zora was recalled in a flash of red light. Andrea clipped the ball back into place and scooped up Eve, who scrambled up to her shoulder.

Things finally settled on the Pokemon front, they headed out for the Poke Mart. On their way, they passed a black haired man in a brown trench coat, glancing around in a paranoid fashion. Lucas paused and, despite protests from the two females, walked over to the man.

"Are you lost sir?" Lucas asked polity. The man jumped visibly, looking at Lucas in wide eyed shock.

"My cover, it has been found out," the man said dramatically, throwing an arm over his eyes as if he was about to cry. "You have figured it out. Yes, I work for Global Police." Lucas opened his mouth to say something, obviously planning to tell the man he had it all wrong. The man gave him no chance to speak, continuing with his dramatic speech, "You ask my name? Well, that I can not give. My code name though, it is Looker. That is what they call me."

"Look, crazy guy, we have no idea what you're talkin' about," Andrea finally interrupted, sick of both the man's melodramaticness and the stares they were getting from some nearby pedestrians.

The man stopped, peering over his arm at the two. Finally bringing his arm down completely, Looker shoved a hand into on of the pockets of his large trench coat. "I see, you do not know about my mission for Global Police to stop Team Galactic. You couple are trainers. I can tell you have good hearts and work for the side of good though." Looker fished an item out of his pocket, shoving it into the hands of a protesting Andrea. "Here, this is my gift to you. Someone gave it to me, but I have no use for it. I am sure a young person such as you will find use for it."

He began walking away, looking over his shoulder at Andrea and Lucas. "I am sure we shall meet again. Remember young trainers, there is no good out of being evil."

The little trio stared after the man as he disappeared into the crowd. Once Looker disappeared, Andrea finally looked down at the item he had given her. It was a flat, blue contraption dominated by a touch screen, just a bit bigger than her hand. The top had the increasingly familiar Pokeball symbol at the top. In between the Pokeball symbol and the screen were the words 'Vs Recorder.'

"What does this thing do?" Andrea asked, turning it around in her hands. Lucas looked over at it and let out a low whistle.

"Wow, a Vs Recorder. You can record your battles and stuff on that. They're pretty expensive."

"You can have it then. I don't want it." Andrea threw the devise at Lucas, who, after a bit of fumbling, caught it. Lucas looked from the Vs Recorder to Andrea, who had started out for the Poke Mart.

"Are you sure?" he asked her retreating back.

"Of course I am, now hurry up." Quickly Lucas put the item into his pack and rushed forward to catch up with Andrea.

~~**~~**~~**~~

A middle aged woman with brown hair tied in a neat bun looked up when Lucas called her name. "Oh, are you Lucas?" she asked pleasantly, putting down the pen she had been checking papers with.

"Yes ma'am," Lucas answered with a nod. "The man in the front office said I was supposed to ask you about Professor Rowan's package."

"Oh yes. Why don't you come with me? Your friend…"

"Andrea," the girl in question supplied.

"Andrea can stay here. The children seem to like her and that cute little Eevee."

Everyone over five feet and Eve looked at the area around Andrea's leg. She was surrounded by a mass of young children all looking up at her and Eve with happy faces. Andrea shuddered inwardly at the thought of being left alone with them.

"I can come if you want," she offered desperately.

"Oh no," the teacher said with a wave of her hand. "The children seem to like you and I'm sure you would just love telling them stories about your time as a trainer." With that she walked out of the room with Lucas, who turned around and gave Andrea an apologetic look before hurrying off to catch up with the teacher.

Andrea and Eve looked down at all the little faces looking up at them. Briefly Andrea wondered how she had ended up in a world where liking little children was apparently the norm. While Andrea was occupied with such thoughts, Eve was cautiously watching one of the younger children who was slowly reaching a hand for her tail.

Just as the little kid, a boy with brown hair and the deceiving look of wide eyed innocence that most children seem to have down to an art form, was about to grab her tail, Eve let out a loud growl. Andrea, her attention finally drawn to what was going on, looked down at the child with a deep frown.

"Leave Eve alone kid," she ordered. The boy backed off but did not look as if he had been completely deterred. "Look, I don't know what people normally do when they visit munchkin land," Andrea began addressing the whole room, "but I can tell you right now I'm not telling you any stories or showing off my Pokemon or anything like that."

Andrea had hoped her little speech would, if not send the kids scuttling back to their seats, at least get them to back off. Unfortunately it had a rather opposite effect. The children crowded in closer, their looks of intense curiosity turning to admiration. One little girl voiced the general feeling with an enthusiastic, "You're so cool."

That comment lead to a bombardment of questions from the children that no one waited to be answered. That was why, when Lucas and the teacher reentered the room, they found Andrea backed up against a wall, scowling deeply at a chattering mass that came up to her waste. When Andrea saw Lucas enter the room, she pushed her way through the crowd of children and grabbed his arm, having every intention of dragging him out of the place if necessary.

It was not necessary however, Lucas simply waving and politely saying goodbye to the teacher before leaving the room with Andrea. To their retreating backs the teacher suggested that they should visit again since the children apparently liked Andrea so much. Luckily, or unluckily since the teacher probably would have taken back the invite, Andrea had gotten far enough from the woman that she could not hear the teen's mumbled swear words.

They exited the trainer's school, Lucas apologizing profusely to a still frowning Andrea. In the end she just told him to shut up about it and asked what was in the package.

"Oh, yeah." Remembering the reason they had some there in the first place, Lucas pulled out a small, paper wrapped parcel. As the two walked in the direction of the Pokemon Center, he unwrapped the paper, exposing two watch like devises.

"We had to go through that for watches?" Andrea asked in disgust.

Lucas shook his head, handing one of the watches to Andrea. "These aren't ordinary watches," he explained. "These are Poketechs. While they can tell time, you can get other applications for them too. There are quite a large amount out there and more are always being developed. Some of the ones they have already are…"

Eve looked at Lucas, who was in full out explanation mode, to Andrea, who was trying to get the Poketech around her wrist. Eventually Eve felt it was necessary to ask. "_So, when did you tone him out?_"

"Around 'they can tell time,'" Andrea mumbled, finally getting the watch on. She looked over at Lucas, who was still talking, and decided she should let him go on for a bit more. It would be good for him to finish an explanation for once. She began fiddling with the Poketech. It seemed simple enough to work. Press one button, you go one way on all the little application things, press another and you go the other. After examining the few applications available, Andrea decided it would be best if she just kept it on the watch function. It seemed the most useful anyway.

There was a sudden silence from Lucas's direction, so Andrea looked over at him. "Fascinating, I assure you," she told him. Eve just giggled, a noise Lucas was unable to interpret properly and that Andrea just ignored. "I guess I'll have to thank Rowan for this later."

The two were finally reaching the Pokemon Center. Looking up, Andrea noted the darkening sky and how the P on the center's roof had been lit up. "Let's go grab some dinner and head to bed. I'm beat."

"Okay," Lucas agreed, busy putting on his own Poketech.

"Where do we feed our Pokemon at?" Andrea asked as they entered the building.

"Oh, that's easy," Lucas replied, looking up from his new watch. "Let me explain…"

Inwardly, Andrea sighed, knowing she had to listen to this explanation, long winded or otherwise. How, she wondered, not for the first time, had she ended up with the kid?


	5. In Which Starly Attack

**Chapter 5: In Which Starly Attack**

Shadowy, indistinct shapes were the only indication that she was awake and had her eyes open. Carefully, Andrea sat up, her head brushing the bottom of the bunk above her. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Andrea glanced at the digital clock on the wall. The bright red digits happily informed her it was four thirty. Turning her head so she could see the window, Andrea confirmed that the sun was not even close to rising.

Looking across the room, she saw that the bunks of the two other trainers she and Lucas had been sharing the room with were still occupied. And if she listened, she could hear Lucas snoring on the bunk above, occasionally talking quietly in his sleep. She shook her head in exasperation. Did the boy never shut up?

With the utmost care, being careful not to wake the lump of gently rising fur near the end of the bed, Andrea extracted her legs from under the covers and swung her feet onto the cold wooden floor. Once off the bed, she picked up her pack and shoes and made her way to the door. She was just about to leave, door open just enough so she could slip out, when the lump on the bed grew a sleepy eyed head.

"_Where you going?_" Eve asked groggily through a yawn that showed her sharp, white teeth.

"I'm awake so I'm getting ready for when we leave. We were planning on leaving early," Andrea answered in a whisper, glancing over at the other trainers to make sure the conversation was not disturbing their sleep. Most people were not the early risers as she was and could take being up before eight very poorly.

"_Early? Yes. At an hour when even ghost Pokemon are asleep? No._" Despite her comment, Eve jumped off the bed and landed on the floor with a little thump before walking past her trainer and into the hallway. Andrea smiled slightly and closed the door quietly behind her before heading for the communal female bathroom, Eve close behind.

They passed a few numbered wooden doors before coming to the one with the little stylized female figure. Opening the door and looking around the room, Andrea was pleased to find she had the place all to herself. Walking over to one of the shower stalls, she put down her shoes and bag and dug out her soap and shampoo. Grabbing a clean towel from the nearby pile, Andrea turned to Eve. "Let me know if anyone comes in, will you?"

"_Sure_," Eve replied, turning to the door as her trainer prepared herself to enjoy one of the luxuries that people tend to forget the great outdoors lacked until they had to spend some time without it.

~~**~~**~~**~~

Half an hour later, Andrea exited the bathroom, hair still damp because she refused to use the blow dryer that was supplied. She figured her hair would dry by the time most of the other people in the center woke up anyway. Swinging her pack over her shoulder, she started out for the cafeteria, until Eve stopped her to tell her it was the other way.

The two reached the cafeteria without much mishap. The place, in complete contradiction to the other times Andrea had been there, was completely empty. One of the staff was just beginning to pull the chairs off of the table. He looked up as Andrea entered, cocking an eyebrow as if to ask why she was up so early. Ignoring him, Andrea walked over to the serving line where breakfast was just being set out. Like the man with the chairs, the women behind the counter were surprised to see someone up so early, but they did not comment.

Quite happy with the silence, Andrea grabbed a tray and picked out a small breakfast consisting of several slices toast, multiple packets of jelly, and an orange juice. After a comment from Eve she grabbed an apple too. Paying for it all at the register, Andrea walked over to one of the tables near the window that the man had already taken the chairs down at. She placed her tray on the table before turning to Eve.

"Got to get you and Zora some breakfast too," Andrea commented before digging out some more money. With Eve close at her heals, she walked over to the machine Lucas had shown her the night before. It was a bit taller than her and resembled one of the soda machines in the lobby except for the little touch screen where the buttons for drink selection might normally be.

Dubiously, she looked at the touch screen, trying to remember his instructions. After a brief pause, she pushed a two, indicating the number of Pokemon she was feeding, and then typed in the names of their species. A price flashed on the screen and Andrea inserted the money. The machine whirred before two packets of food came tumbling out into the dispenser near the foot of the machine.

Reaching down, Andrea picked up the packets and two bowls that were stacked near the machine. These items in hand, she headed back to her table. Popping open the packets, Andrea filled the two bowls and placed them on the floor, where her Pokemon would find it easiest to eat.

Eve dug into her food with gusto and Zora, after she was released, sniffed at her food before eating with equal delight. Andrea spared a fond look for her Pokemon before turning to her own breakfast. By the time the little trio was done and Andrea had put the tray and bowls where they belonged, the saner early risers were filtering into the cafeteria, some still rubbing sleep from their eyes and yawning. Not wanting her Pokemon to get in the way, Andrea recalled Zora and picked up Eve, who climbed the rest of the way up to her shoulder.

A worried Lucas came hurriedly into the cafeteria, beret askew, just as Andrea was wondering whether she should take this opportunity to leave him behind. She sighed when he spotted her and came rushing over.

"There you are," were the first words out of his mouth. They were soon followed by an innocent, "I thought you might have been lost."

"Not lost," growled Andrea. "Although I was considering ditching your ass. Good thing you showed up when you did."

Lucas just shrugged the comment off, putting it down to Andrea's normal grumpy behavior and looked at the slowly lengthening breakfast line. "I'm going to grab breakfast real quick and feed my Pokemon. You want to wait outside or wait in here while I eat?"

Andrea looked at the slowly filling room and found the answer easily enough. "Outside." Without waiting for a response, she left the room.

Once outside, she sat on a bench near the center's entrance, Eve on her lap. Andrea stoked the soft fur, not really thinking of anything. She watched as people passed by and let the sounds of the city and the early morning sunlight wash over her.

She was content and because of this found what happened next all the more surprising. Spotting a movement, she glanced in the direction and spotted a small flock of Starly, pecking at the ground. She was just about to comment about them to Eve when

_A younger version of herself was crouching in some tall grass when a pang of hunger tore through her body. Fearfully she looked over at the flock of dun colored birds a short distance away, worried the noise of her stomach had given her away. They were still there though, pecking at the ground for food. Staring at them, she clutched the little knife tighter in her hand. _

_As if sensing the threat, the birds looked up. As one they took off in a great flurry of wings. She was cursing to herself, knowing that she might have lost her only chance at food for quite some time, when something caught her eye. One of the birds wasn't taking off. Its wing seemed to be giving it trouble. In a flash, ignoring the beating wings of the other birds, she lunged, bringing the knife down-_

"_ANDREA_," Eve shouted, worry lasing the single word. Andrea looked down at the little Pokemon, who had her paws on Andrea's chest and was looking up at her with concern in her eyes.

"Wha'?" Andrea asked, holding her throbbing head. The light of before, previously so enjoyable, was now painfully bright and the once bearable noise of the city now grated in her head. Eve shouting at her was not helping things.

"_You just froze_," Eve continued, nearing hysterics. "_You where about to say something when your body jerked and you just froze. I thought you had stopped breathing_." Eve was still shouting in fear, although she quieted when she noticed the pained look her trainer was giving her.

Andrea rubbed at her head before reaching for her pack. "I'm fine Eve. Deep breaths now, calm down. I don't need you hyperventilating or something." Her hand found what she was looking for and she pulled out the bottle of headache medicine Maple had thoughtfully added. Without even worry about finding water, she opened the bottle, shook out a pill and popped it into her mouth. She swallowed and looked down at her still fretting Pokemon.

"_What happened?_" Eve asked, shaking slightly. She had truly thought she had lost Andrea for a second and was having a hard time getting over the feeling that had overwhelmed her.

"I just remembered something. It's a condition that comes with a killer headache apparently," Andrea said, attempting to reassure Eve while still rubbing at her aching head.

"_People don't stop breathing when they remember something_," Eve pointed out.

"Well, I do when I get my memories back apparently," Andrea retorted.

"_Wait_." Eve stopped freaking out for a second. "_Did you just remember, like, everything?_"

"No, just some little unimportant bit," Andrea said with a wave of her hand. If you call apparently being in a situation that I'm so hungry I have to catch birds unimportant, she added to herself.

"_Well, what did you-_"

"Hey you two. Sorry it took me so long," Lucas said with a cheery wave as he exited the Pokemon Center. Eve looked grumpily over at the other trainer but did not continue her questioning.

"Well, let's get going." Andrea stood up and helped Eve up to her normal position. She started off but stopped in mid step and turned back to Lucas. "Where are we going anyway?"

Lucas just smiled slightly and began leading Andrea in the right direction. "We're heading to Oreburgh. They have a gym there that most trainers stop at to get their first badge. It should only take a day to get there. Day and a half if we stop outside the Oreburgh gate for the night."

Andrea nodded and continued to follow Lucas. They made it past the early morning crowd without much fuss and out of the city. They ran into a few other trainers on their way, but none of them seemed in the mood for a battle that early in the morning, so the trip was rather uneventful.

At least, it was until they saw a flock of Starly. They actually heard the loud bird Pokemon first, but Lucas rushed forward to see what the commotion was so they soon saw the noisy things.

A mass of grey feathered bodies covered a small area near the edge of the grass. Some were dive-bombing the area, others simply content to scratch and peck at whoever their unlucky opponent was. In their raucous excitement some of the little bird Pokemon had even begun to attack some of the members of their own flock, adding to the confusion. Everything was a deafening mess that simply irritated Andrea's receding headache.

"What should we do?" Lucas asked worriedly, eyeing the flock of Starly.

Frustrated because of the headache, Andrea stepped forward, Zora's enlarged Pokeball in her hand. "Do? Well, that answers obvious enough. We stop the annoying buggers."

Without any hesitation, Andrea released Zora. The lion Pokemon looked up at her, then to the flock of Starly. "Zora, Eve, can you two handle those things?" Andrea asked, inclining her head in the flock's direction.

"Shhi."

"_Of course._" Eve leapt off of Andrea's shoulder to land next to Zora.

"Well, get to it then. I don't think whatever they're attacking is going to last much longer."

Without further command, the two Pokemon rushed into the chaos. Eve bit and tackled, focusing on one opponent until it flew off or fainted before going onto the next. Andrea was a bit surprised to hear the occasional curse word come from her Pokemon when the little birds ganged up on her or got in a particularly painful attack. On the whole though Eve was holding her own rather well against the Starly.

Zora was doing wonderfully as well. She bit and tackled just as Eve did, although she simply went after the nearest opponent, not worrying about taking them out one at a time. Together the two were making a dent into the flock's numbers, although it seemed like it would not be enough.

Just when Andrea was getting worried, Zora surprised her. The fur of the blue Pokemon began to give off little snapping pieces of static, slowly increasing in size and frequency. The star shaped end of her tail began to glow and the build up of electricity continued to increase. Zora then charged a small group of Starly, the electricity built up on her body discharging onto her opponents. The group let out a collective shriek and flew off with a slight smell of singed feathers.

"Looks like Zora knows spark," Lucas commented. "Electric attacks are very effective against bird type Pokemon. I think you might just win this."

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Andrea muttered. Lucas just turned red and muttered an excuse that Andrea ignored, turning her attention back to the battle. Lucas was right. Zora's attack was thinning out the flock's numbers considerably.

Soon the last Starly flew off in an ungainly manner, Eve snapping at its tail feathers. The flock gone, Andrea and Lucas rushed over to see what they had been attacking.

Lying in the grass in a crumpled heap was another bird Pokemon. Unlike its Starly attackers, this one was a chocolaty brown with lighter patches of cream colored feathers. The eye that Andrea could see, surrounded by some black marking, was closed shut by dried blood. Feathers were out of place, some lying in the dirt around the Pokemon. One of its wings was held out from its body at an odd and probably painful angle.

"Andrea, get out one of those potions you bought yesterday," Lucas ordered, walking up slowly to the injured Pokemon. To his surprise the Pidgey stirred when he got closer, forcing itself into a sitting position. Its good eye gleamed with distrust as it cocked its head to take in the little group surrounding it.

Lucas reached out his hand. "Hey Pidgey. We're here to help. Just stay still and-" The Pidgey shot its head forward with a shriek, sharp beak aiming for Lucas's hand. The boy jerked backward, giving the injured Pokemon a worried look.

Andrea just sighed and rolled her eyes. "Look, bird, we just fought off a flock of fuckin' Starly to help you. Calm down and let us finish the job." The Pidgey looked over at Andrea obviously surprised. Something she said must have effected it however because when she came over with the potion it did not try to attack her as it had Lucas.

That changed when the potion hit one of its wounds however. It let out a little shriek and flapped its good wing furiously. Its beak shot out and hit Andrea in the same hand the Eve had bitten.

"Shit," Andrea exclaimed, backing off. Eve growled from somewhere behind her trainer, fur bristling. Andrea looked down at her hand and sighed. The Pokemon had hit hard enough to draw a little blood, although the little puncture wound had already stopped bleeding.

The Pidgey was still struggling, trying to get away. It seemed as though it could not however because not only was one of its wings in bad shape, one of its legs seemed to have suffered from a bad gash as well. Looking at the leg, Andrea noted that it looked older than any of the other wounds the Pokemon had sustained from the Starly attack.

"Eve, do me a favor and bite the thing on that leg, would you?" Andrea said indicating the injured leg. Eve hesitated for a second but soon shot forward and dug her teeth into the injured leg. The Pidgey let out another shriek before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

"What are you thinking Andrea?" Lucas shouted, looking over at the older teen angrily. Andre had pulled an empty Pokeball out of her pack and was in the act of throwing it at the Pidgey when she looked over at Lucas.

"I was thinking the pain would be enough to get the thing to faint. Now I can catch it and get it to the Pokemon Center. In the long run I think it's best since now it can't hurt us or itself more." As Lucas looked at her in shock, Andrea tossed the Pokeball, which pulled in the Pidgey's body in a flash of red light. The Pokeball shook violently, despite the fact the Pokemon inside had fainted. After a few worrying moments it stilled and the red light went off with its customary _ding_.

Andrea picked up the Pokeball and stood up as she clipped it to her belt. "Thanks Eve. You to Zora. You were both a huge help."

"_No problem,_" Eve replied smugly, giving a paw that a Starly had given a particularly nasty peck a quick lick.

Zora looked up from an inspection of her own wounds with a happy, "Shinx." Andrea looked a bit shocked when the sound was accompanied by a background noise at the edge of her hearing but soon smiled and recalled the Pokemon. Picking up Eve, she turned to Lucas who was still giving her a shocked look. "Well, you coming?"

"Ye-yeah," Lucas said as he scrambled up. Quickly he took the lead as they retraced their steps back to the center.

~~**~~**~~**~~

"Here you are ma'am. Pidgey is all healed up. It was good you brought her in when you did because that leg wound was seriously infected."

"And the wing?" Andrea asked, taking back the Pokeball the nurse was handing her.

"Just dislocated luckily. Take care now." The nurse waved goodbye in a pleasant manner as Andrea walked away with a thanks. Andrea headed outside the center where Lucas and Eve were waiting.

"Well, three days behind schedule," Andrea commented as she finished clipping the Pokeball in place. Lucas stood up and began leading the way out of the city. He had been a bit angry at Andrea at first but things were back to normal between the two of them.

Once they left the city limits and got back to Route 203, Lucas stopped and turned to Andrea. "Oh yeah, are you going to name that Pidgey you caught?"

"Yeah. I guess now would be a good time." Reaching for her belt, Andrea pulled out the right Pokeball and released the brown bird Pokemon. Pidgey looked at the two of them for a second before it flew off the ground with an angry, "Pidddgg," and started to beat at Andrea with its wings.

Andrea threw up her arms to protect her face and Eve jumped at the bird Pokemon. Pidgey just moved out of the way and Eve tumbled to the ground.

"Eve, what's up with this crazy bird?"

Eve listened to Pidgey's loud shrieks before quickly translating. "_She didn't want to be caught. Especially by a weak starting trainer. She says you caught her when she was weak and she won't forgive you for that._"

"Okay, okay," Andrea shouted, waving the Pidgey away from her head. "Calm down will you?" The Pidgey backed off a bit, but it still flapped angrily near Andrea's head. "I'm sorry about that okay? You were hurt and wouldn't let us help, so I had to do something."

"I told her it was a bad idea," Lucas added, getting the brunt of the conversation form Andrea's comment. Andrea just glared at him.

This did not calm the Pidgey down, who just fluttered around Andrea's head in a more agitated manner. "Look, I sort of need to catch Pokemon, but I'm not going to keep you around if you don't want to stay."

That seemed to calm the Pidgey down and it landed on the ground, still looking at Andrea with anger. "You don't want to be caught by a weak trainer, right? And you think I cheated when it comes to catching you right? How about you battle one of my Pokemon? You win and I release you. Lose and you get to stay with me."

Pidgey cocked her head, thinking. Finally she gave a little "Pidg."

"_She accepts_," Eve translated. Nodding, Andrea released Zora in a flash of red light. Zora looked inquisitively at Pidgey as Eve explained what was going on.

When Eve finished her explanation Zora nodded and stepped forward, tail swishing. "Zora, none of your electric attacks," Andrea commanded. She looked at Pidgey before adding, "I don't want anyone to say we cheated." Zora nodded again to confirm she understood.

"Okay. Everyone ready?" Lucas looked between Zora and Pidgey. With no sign to the cibtrry, he yelled, "Start."

"Tackle Zora." Zora charged at Pidgey, who moved quickly out of the way and pecked at Zora as she rushed past. Zora turned around to face her opponent again. As Zora was turning, the Pidgey kicked up dirt, getting the gritty stuff in Zora's face.

Zora backed off, a paw rubbing at her eyes as she whimpered slightly. Pidgey took that opportunity to charge forward and tackle Zora. Zora staggered backwards but stayed on her feet. Squinting through stinging eyes, Zora made out the shape of the Pidgey and charged, taking the bird Pokemon down with a flying leap.

With a deep growl, Zora sunk her teeth into any part of the other Pokemon that she could, having no intention of letting it get away until it gave up. Pidgey beat at the Shinx with her wings, pecking at any flesh she could reach.

Eventually the onslaught forced Zora to back off. She was panting slightly but was able to tell that the bird Pokemon was faring much worse than her. "Good going Zora. Think you can get in another tackle?"

Zora nodded and charged forward. She would have hit her exhausted opponent but the dirt in her eyes threw off her accuracy and she missed. The Pidgey took that chance to peck at her again. Zora turned again, this time with her eyes closed. She felt the dirt hit her face and shook her head, hoping to get any of the irritating particles away from her eyes. Opening her eyes again she charged once more, this time hitting her target.

Pidgey staggered backwards before falling to the ground in a heap. The bird Pokemon tried to struggle back to her feet but soon fell back down in a dead faint.

Andrea looked at the heap of feathers and shook her head. Ignoring the other Pokemon for the time being, Andrea went over to Zora. She gave the electric Pokemon a pat on the head before helping get the rest of the dirt out of her eyes. In thanks Zora licked her hand.

"Looks like Pidgey is waking back up," Lucas commented as the bundle of feathers began to stir. After double checking Zora to make sure she was fine, Andrea went over and knelt by Pidgey.

"So, still think I'm a weak trainer and I cheated?" Andrea asked when the Pokemon looked over at her.

"Pidg."

"_She said no_," Eve translated, coming over with Zora close behind.

"Glad to hear it. Now that I've proven a point, you can go if you still want." The Pidgey, along with everyone else, gave Andrea a shocked look.

"Pidgey ppidg iddgg," the bird Pokemon said with a bit of anger, struggling to her feet and flapping her wings indignantly.

"_She wants to know what's up,_" Eve translated as the Pidgey continued to talking. "_She wants to know if you think she's weak now. She'll prove to you she's not, you just have to give her a chance._"

"Oh, really? And how exactly was she planning to do that?"

"_She says you just have to let her come with us. She'll show us she's strong. She'll show everyone._" Eve looked up at her trainer as she finished translating and the bird Pokemon clamed down slightly.

Andrea smiled slightly, as if some joke only she could understand had just been said. When Eve looked back on the moment, what Andrea said next was not as surprising as she had initially thought. "Roz. What does she think of Roz?"

"What?" Lucas and Eve blurted out simultaneously. There was a surprised noise from the Pidgey as well and even Zora was looking a bit puzzled by the odd question.

"I asked what our feathered friend thought of the name Roz," Andrea said slowly. "If you guys didn't catch on to the fact yet, I like giving my Pokemon names if they don't mind."

There was a silence until Pidgey spoke up with a soft cheeping noise. "_She said she likes it_," Eve translated after a moment.

Andrea nodded happily before standing up. "Good. Well, now that that's settled, how a quick introduction and we can be on our way? I'm Andrea," she said, pointing to herself. "That's Eve, Zora and Lucas." She indicated everyone in turn.

"Shii," Zora spoke up. Andrea noted the background noise was getting louder before she looked down to Eve for a translation.

Eve was laughing but pulled herself together enough for a quick translation. "_She said 'He's the dork.'_" Eve soon dissolved into more laughter as Zora and Roz gave her curious looks.

"What did they say?" Lucas asked, looking at the obviously laughing Eevee.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Andrea replied, doing her best to hide a smile. Coughing a bit to hide her own laughter, she held up two Pokeballs. "Well, I think its time you guys return." With a nod of consent from both Pokemon, she pressed the buttons and they returned to their respective Pokeballs.

"Now that that is over, let's head out," Lucas said, already walking towards their next destination. Andrea knelt down and picked up Eve, who was still chuckling occasionally, and headed off after her human traveling companion.


	6. In Which a Rival Appears

**Chapter 6: In Which a Rival Appears**

Andrea put the money pouch away as they left Oreburgh Gate, the mining town of Oreburgh stretching out before them. They had made it through the cave without any trouble and had run into a few trainers along the way who had added to Andrea's steadily increasing savings.

As they walked down the stairs to street level, Andrea got a good look at the large mining town. The place seemed a bit scruffy when she compared it to Jubilife, but it was nice enough. Most of the buildings seemed residential, although she easily made out the red and blue roofs of the local Pokemon Center and Poke Mart. In the distance was a huge, regal building, standing out against its drab surroundings. A few people, mainly women and children, were walking the paved streets.

"Lets head for the Pokemon Center, then I'll show you to the gym," Lucas said, leading them to the nearby Pokemon Center. This one was much smaller than the one in Jubilife but besides that looked the same.

They entered through the automatic doors into the well lit and sanitary interior of the building. Some trainers who were lounging in the waiting chairs looked up when the two entered but soon went back to whatever previous activities they had been doing, many of which involved staring off into space in a bored manner.

Lucas and Andrea walked up to the counter and dropped their Pokemon off with the resident Nurse Joy. As the woman collected their Pokemon, Andrea found herself examining the woman's hair to see if it was dyed.

"I'm going to give my family a call; you want to get us a room?" Lucas asked, interrupting Andrea's internal debate on whether or not she had seen blond roots.

"Sure," Andrea replied, walking over to the lady in charge of room check in. Lucas thanked her, although she was not paying him any attention, and hurried over to the video phones.

An hour later, the two of them walked out, Pokemon healed. "So, which way to the gym?" Andrea asked, looking up and down the street.

"This way." Lucas pointed before he started walking off, Andrea following close behind him.

After a short walk they reached a large, grey building, built entirely out of stone. The slate grey structure seemed to loom over the street in front of it, casting a dark shadow. A few thin windows marred the stone surface, dark and appearing to be more for decoration than to actually let light in. A large set of doors was the only sign that the place actually considered letting people in and was not some impenetrable fortress.

One of the doors opened as they approached the building. A boy, around Lucas's age by the look of it, came out. He was of medium height and build, with a mass of unruly, straw blond hair that hooded a pair of bright hazel eyes. His clothing was mismatched, a pair of grey pants with a bright red shirt covered by an equally bright blue jacket.

Not noticing the new arrivals at first, he walked forward, almost running into Lucas. "Sorry," he hurriedly said, looking distracted.

"Oh, no problem," Lucas politely reassured him as Andrea snorted softly from behind. The boy looked past Lucas to Andrea, his eyes widening slightly when he spotted Eve on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you guys here to challenge the gym leader?" the boy suddenly asked eagerly.

Lucas shook his head. "I'm not. Andrea here is though." He pointed to his traveling companion.

"He's not here right now. The guy in there," the boy jabbed his thumb in the direction of the gym behind him, "told me he's working in the mine and won't be back 'til tomorrow."

"I guess we'll have to come back tomorrow," Andrea said with a sigh, turning to leave. The boy rushed forward and grabbed her arm to stop her, an action that only resulted in him receiving an intense glare.

"Wait. I'm Nolan and I'm a trainer too. You want to battle? As, like, practice for the gym." Nolan looked at her excitedly, practically buzzing with energy. Andrea just looked at her arm, which he was still holding, before she yanking it away. Nolan seemed unfazed by this and continued to look at her with a mixture of pleading and excitement.

"Come on, please?" he begged when Andrea still did not answer. "Three on three. You have three Pokemon, right? You should by now, so there shouldn't be a problem." He continued to yammer on as Andrea watched him, a slight look of horror crossing her face. The boy was practically jumping up and down in his increasing excitement and it did not seem like he was going to leave any time soon. And he was talking just as much as Lucas in one of his lecture modes. There seemed only one way to get him to shut up and hopefully leave soon.

"Fine, whatever. Just shut up will you?" Nolan gave Andrea a happy smile before walking over to Lucas, more bouncing really, and asking him to judge. Lucas of course agreed and soon both parties stood facing each other, ready to begin.

Putting Eve on the ground, Andrea picked out a Pokeball and released the Pokemon inside. With a loud cry, Roz materialized, every feather exuding her readiness for battle. Since she had officially joined the team Andrea had battled with the bird Pokemon a few times and learned quickly that Roz enjoyed a good fight. Andrea hoped this battle would please the aggressive little bird.

Nolan smirked and released his own Pokemon with a lazy and confident manner, a complete switch from the hyperactive boy of before. Once the red light cleared a little, white, squirrel like Pokemon appeared. Its twitching tail had a blue strip running up it with three large spikes at the tip. The blue strip ran up the Pokemon's back and onto its head. The twitching ears were also blue while the cheeks were a bright yellow. The little Pokemon gave Andrea and Roz a wide eyed look meant to melt the hearts of even the most hardened opponents. It failed to have any effect on either the trainer or her Pokemon.

"Let's see that scrawny Pidgey deal with Pachirisu here," Nolan said mockingly, continuing to smirk in an infuriating manner.

Andrea let out a noise that could only be described as a growl. "She is not scrawny and her name is Roz, you cocky little-"

"Trainers ready?" Lucas asked, raising a hand and stopping any verbal fight before it could get started.

"Just get on with it," Andrea snapped, glaring at her opponent. Nolan nodded his head at Lucas.

"Then battle," Lucas said, bringing his hand down.

"Quick attack Roz," Andrea ordered before Lucas's arm had finished its descent. Roz rushed forward in a zigzag pattern, going so fast at times she seemed to disappear from view. Finally she barreled into Pachirisu, sending the little Pokemon tumbling head over fluffy tail. Pachirisu got quickly to its feet, shaking its head slightly to clear it.

Nolan's smile just widened. "Spark Pachirisu." The squirrel Pokemon's checks began to gather electricity, stray pieces discharging into the air. The electricity continued to increase, the sparks finally coming from all over the Pokemon's body, jumping around like over exited puppies.

"Get out of the way Roz," Andrea ordered in a worried voice. Inwardly she cursed herself for not realizing that her opponent must have had some trick up his sleeve to be so confident. Why hadn't she realized it was an electric Pokemon?

Andrea's order came to late unfortunately. Roz was pumping her wings, trying to get air born and out of the way, when her opponent charged, the stored electricity discharging onto the bird Pokemon. Roz let out a pained cry, loosing the little air she had gained as her wings sized up and she fell.

"Good, now bite." Pachirisu scurried over to her fallen opponent, digging in strong front teeth where Roz's wing met her body. The little bird Pokemon let out another shriek and struggled, strong wings flapping around. Releasing his hold, Pachirisu swiftly backed off. After a brief pause an angry Roz had regained her feet and was glaring at her opponent.

"Get in the air and dive bomb him and watch out for any more electric attacks," Andrea ordered, keeping a close eye on the other Pokemon, watching for any movement that might signal the next attack. Roz flapped her wings in a labored manner and took to the air. Once she gained enough height she began a tight spiral down, beak aimed at the other Pokemon.

Pachirisu tried to scramble out of the way but tripped and fell, making the perfect target for Roz. Mercilessly she dived and stabbed with her beak, hitting the other Pokemon dead on. The white Pokemon let out a high pitched squeal but rolled out of the way before Roz could get another attack in.

Not waiting for a command from Nola, Pachirisu gathered the electricity needed for another spark and charged. Roz, tired and still stiff from the last electric attack, was unable to move out of the way in time and was hit head on. Without a sound she fell to the ground in a faint.

"Roz is unable to battle," Lucas declared, "Pachirisu is the winner."

With a frown and sigh Andrea returned Roz. After a moment of hesitation she grabbed Zora's Pokeball and released an electric Pokemon of her own. Nolan's smile only shrank slightly when he saw the Shinx.

"Trying to fight electricity with electricity, eh?" he said cockily, quirking an eyebrow in Andrea's direction. The brunet chose to ignore him, instead looking over at Lucas and indicating he should start the next battle.

Lucas quickly raised his arm in the air again. "Trainer's ready? Battle." He quickly dropped his arm as the next round commenced.

The two Pokemon eyed each other warily, waiting for their trainer's commands. Pachirisu was panting and the dried blood from one of Roz's attacks was like a banner on his white fur. Zora however was fresh and stood her ground, every muscle tensed as she waited for a command.

Nolan was the first to bark an order. "Bite Pachirisu." The white Pokemon darted forward with sharp incisors ready to bite into flesh. Zora nimbly dodged out of the slower Pokemon's way.

"Use bite yourself Zora," Andrea commanded. Zora whipped around and bit down on her opponents passing tail. A high pitched squeal of pain escaped Pachirisu's lips but the little Pokemon had soon turned on its tormenter, trying to sink its teeth in.

Zora released her grip, backing away from the snapping teeth of her opponent. The white Pokemon had been able to get a few nips in during their struggle from which a trickled a little blood.

Without hesitation, Pachirisu charged at Zora, still trying to dig in his teeth. Once more Zora dodged. "Tackle Zora," Andrea commended, watching the other Pokemon try to regain footing after another missed attack.

Zora backed up slightly before charging at the other Pokemon, the impact sending the smaller Pokemon fly for a short distance. When Pachirisu hit the ground in a small cloud of dust, he tired to get back to his feet but quickly collapsed.

"Pachirisu is unable to battle, Zora is the winner."

"Good job Pachirisu," Nolan said, returning his Pokemon. For a second his hand hovered over one of his Pokeballs before he changed his mind and picked another one. Grinning again he released his next Pokemon.

Out came some kind of odd plant. "Budew," said the small, smiling creature. Andrea just raised an eyebrow and ignored Nolan's grin. She was sure he had something up his sleeve again but was hoping she could deal with it in some way or another.

"Ready? Battle," Lucas commanded, starting the next round.

"Zora, spark," Andrea commanded. As Zora charged up for her attack, Andrea realized something was wrong the moment she saw Nolan's grin grow even wider. Zora was already heading after the grass Pokemon so her trainer had no choice but to hope whatever happened would not be too bad.

Zora's attack hit and it obviously took some toll on the other Pokemon, but not as much as Andrea knew it should have. As Andrea was trying to figure out what was going on, Nolan gave Budew the order to attack. "Absorb Budew."

The plant Pokemon opened its smiling mouth and shot seeds in Zora's direction. Upon her trainer's order, Zora tried to move out of the line of fire but Budew was persistent. When the seeds finally hit their mark they quickly took root and sent up little tendrils that ensnared Zora. The electric Pokemon struggled to break free but was having little luck.

The tendrils began to pulse with a green light and Andrea noticed that as they did so Zora seemed to become increasingly lethargic while Budew might as well have just had a cup of caffeine. "Zora, bite your way out of there or something," Andrea said with the slight edge of panic as she watched her Pokemon loosing strength.

Stopping her useless struggle against the tendrils, Zora turned her sharp teeth to the task of biting through the plants. This strategy was far more successful and she soon escaped from the clutches of the creepers. She was staggering on her feet in exhaustion however, causing Andrea to worry about how much longer she would last.

"Zora, can you-"

"_Yes. Just tell me what to do next,_" Zora said calmly. Andrea was taken aback briefly, shocked to be hearing Zora's voice. She quickly brought her thoughts back to the battle at hand however.

"Okay then, go in for a tackle and follow up with bite." Nodding, Zora rushed her opponent and took down Budew, sinking in sharp teeth before the other Pokemon had any chance to recover.

Budew, still filled with stolen energy, got back up after the attacks and upon Nolan's order released a yellow powder into the air. Zora backed off as quickly as she could but still ended up inhaling some of the powder.

Watching her Pokemon closely, Andrea gave the next plan for attack. "Another bite and spark again." She knew that spark was not having as much effect as it should but it was still one of Zora's more powerful attacks and Andrea was hoping it could do more damage than a simple tackle.

Zora went in to sink her teeth in once more but froze up, not a muscle moving. Nolan just continued to grin as he watched. "Razor leaf Budew." The two twisted vines above Budew's head opened slightly and out shot a stream of leaves. Luckily for Zora the stun spore wore off slightly and she was able to dive to the ground and roll out of the way. Getting back to her feet she shook herself and went at Budew again, this time biting the other Pokemon. Teeth still firmly in her struggling opponent, Zora gathered electricity over her body and discharged it all on the other Pokemon.

Budew let out a small noise of pain as Zora let go and backed away. Her muscles were freezing again and she knew that she probably would not be able to last another attack. In one last desperate move that surprised her opponent, Zora tackled once more, knocking the other Pokemon off its feet.

Zora watched as Budew struggled up, unable to move because the paralyzing effect of the stun spore had taken over once more. Budew swayed back and forth, taking a shaky step forward. Just when Zora was expecting another razor leaf Budew fell face first onto the ground.

"Budew is unable to battle," Lucas announced. "Zora is the winner."

Nolan recalled Budew, his smile now gone. "Good job Budew," he whispered before clipping the Pokeball back to his belt. Releasing his final Pokemon his smile returned as he watched the creature materialize from the red light.

Now standing in front of Zora, his fluffy tail proudly waving like some banner, a smile to equal that of his trainer's, stood an Eevee. "Eee, eeveee vee" the little Pokemon said smugly as he faced Zora. The electric Pokemon's tail twitched slightly, but otherwise she made no response to whatever the other Pokemon had said.

Eve however began fuming. "_How dare that little twerp. So help me, if Zora doesn't finish him off…_" She continued mumbling to herself as Lucas raised his hand, about to start the final round.

"Wait," Andrea said, getting surprised looks from everyone. "Zora, come on back, Eve can take this one." Both of her Pokemon gave her disbelieving looks.

"_Andrea, I am quite capable of handling this myself_," Zora informed her seriously, almost primly. Andrea resisted the urge to smile. Since she had been captured it had been obvious that Zora was much more serious than Eve or Roz but now that Andrea could hear her talking that personality trait was even more apparent.

"No arguments," Andrea said firmly, pointing a finger at the ground near her feet. "You're a mess. Get over here and watch if you want." As Zora sighed and made her slow progress back to her trainer, Andrea turned to Eve, lowering her voice. "Looks like you'll get a chance at that Eevee after all."

Eve just twitched an ear before getting up and walking in front of the other Eevee. As she passed Zora Andrea heard a mumbled, "_Tough luck_," from Eve. Andrea just rolled her eyes before nodding to Lucas, finally ready.

Zora lay down near her feet, paws tucked under her body, tail swishing gently behind her. Andrea looked down briefly, noting that Zora had her gaze locked intently on the other two Pokemon in front of her.

"Ready?" Lucas asked, hand raised once more. When no one interrupted him this time he brought his hand down, "Battle."

"Eevee against Eevee huh?" Nolan commented, watching as the two Pokemon eyed each other warily. "This should be a synch for my Eevee," he commented, his infuriating grin returning in full force.

Andrea ground her teeth and clenched her hands into fists but did not retort. Instead, she gave the first command to attack. "Bite Eve."

"_With pleasure_," Eve replied as she rushed forward and sank her teeth into the other Pokemon. Eevee let out a cry and kicked dirt up into Eve's face. Sneezing and shaking her head, Eve backed off hurriedly. Blinking, trying to clear the dirt from her eyes, she missed the oncoming tackle from Eevee and was knocked off her feet.

"Vee, eee," said Eevee, smiling down at his downed opponent.

"_You want me to tear that dammed smile off your face, don't you?_" Eve growled as she scrambled to her feet. She charged at Eevee but the smug little Pokemon easily dodged out of the way.

"Eve, stay clam. You won't be able to do anything if you keep charging madly," Andrea informed her enraged Pokemon.

"She won't be able to hit anything if she faints too," Nolan interjected. "Eevee, quick attack." Covering the distance between himself and Eve in movements almost to fast for the eye to follow, Eevee barreled into Eve, the force sending her to the ground once more.

Eve quickly got back up but instead of charging stood, waiting for the next order to attack. "Eve, go in for another bite. Get out of there quick and then attack again."

Eve nodded and dashed forward, digging in her teeth once more. Eevee tried to shoot more dirt into her eyes but Eve had already gotten out of the way. In little darting movements Eve continued to dash in and sink her sharp teeth in and back off before the other Eevee could retaliate.

Eevee got in a few more attacks of his own but Eve continued to wear him down, biting and biting, tackling on occasion so her moves did not become overly predictable. Eventually, after both Pokemon had started panting heavily, one of them staggered forward, lost footing, and fell. Unable to get back up, the match was ended.

"Eevee is unable to battle, Eve wins," Lucas declared. Andrea crossed her arms over her chest and smiled back at a shocked Nolan. The other trainer stood there, mouth agape, before snapping back to reality and rushing forward to pick up his Pokemon. The Eevee, quickly recovering from the faint, moved weakly in his arms.

"You win this time Andrea," Nolan said, looking at Andrea. "But from now on we are rivals," he continued, pointing a dramatic finger in the direction of the female in question. Arms still crossed, Andrea just raised a skeptical eyebrow. "It is now my goal to beat you. Just you wait, I'll train my Pokemon to be so much stronger than yours it will be unbelievable." His Eevee looked down at Eve and said something, making the other Pokemon swish her tail in a violent motion.

Before Andrea could say anything in response Nolan rushed off, throwing the promise of her future defeat over his shoulder. Everyone watched him retreat with varying degrees of disbelief.

"You did really well Andrea," Lucas commented, walking over.

"I didn't do anything but yell orders," Andrea said with a shrug. "Really it was-" Stopping, she looked in the direction Nolan had run off in. "Hey, that cheapskate gypped me. I'm supposed to get money for that battle." She took a step forward but then stopped and shook her head. "It's not worth it," she mumbled angrily under her breath.

"Come on, let's get back to the center. You need to heal your Pokemon," Lucas said.

"I know that," Andrea snapped, taking out her frustration on the younger teen. "Come on Zora, time for you to return." She held up the Pokeball and Zora was retuned, her ball secured to its normal position on Andrea's belt. Picking up Eve she began to walk back to the Pokemon Center until Lucas coughed politely and pointed in the other direction. Grumbling she turned in the direction he indicated.

"What was that other Eevee saying that got you so mad?" Andrea asked as they walked, looking down at Eve.

"_He just called you some names_," Eve mumbled, showing no signs of wishing to elaborate.

Andrea just sighed but did not question further. Instead she turned to Lucas, who was walking slightly ahead. "Hey, what was up with that battle? That Budew thing didn't seem to be very affected by Zora's spark."

"That's because Budew is a plant type Pokemon. Electric attacks aren't very effective against plant Pokemon," Lucas explained.

"That's weird."

"Not really. Every type has its weaknesses and advantages. Take flying type Pokemon. They are weak against electric attacks but their flying type moves are super effective against fighting type Pokemon." Lucas continued talking, once more in his lecture mode. Andrea resisted the urge to tell him to shut up or to tone him out, knowing this was one of the few explanations he gave that she would actually find useful.

And so they made their way to the Pokemon Center, Lucas happily going into detail about type advantages and Andrea trying to pay attention and wondering if it was possible to make a law against talking so much.

--------------------------------------------

AN: Just wanted to make a comment about Nolan. He is based off of that annoying rival from Pearl, Diamond, and Platinum, yes, but he is not the actual rival himself. That character bugs me to no end but I honestly thought it would be fun to have Andrea have to deal with some overexcited rival who pops up all over the place. Thought I'd just let you all know that. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and for reading this, I hope you have enjoyed the story so far.


	7. In Which there is a Gym Battle

**Chapter 7: In Which there is a Gym Battle**

"Okay, let's give this another shot," Andrea said to Eve, standing in front of the gym doors. With Lucas trailing behind she entered the dimly lit building, looking around.

The place seemed to be more outdoorsy then the actual outdoors she had just left had been. The floor was compact dirt and the entire place was dotted with boulders of varying sizes, most much larger than Andrea. High above them was a cave like ceiling, complete with stalactites. Or maybe stalagmites, Andrea couldn't really remember the difference. Here and there people were battling on patches of relatively rock free ground and while their ages and genders varied the Pokemon type they were battling with did not.

"Hello, are you both here to challenge the gym leader?" a man near the door asked. He was short and had a mass of brown hair that reached the top of the rims of his sunglasses. His purple shirt showed the obvious bulge of his stomach and his hands were shoved into the pockets of his khaki pants.

"No, just my friend Andrea," Lucas replied pleasantly, pointing to the brunet.

The man nodded and indicated for the two to follow him. "Roark just got his Pokemon healed from this morning's first battle so he should be ready for you." The man led them to the back of the building, past the numerous piles of rock and battling trainers. Some of them stopped to look over at the passing people, snickering when they saw Eve on Andrea's shoulder.

"Roark, you have another challenger," the man yelled once they reached a space edged by some of the larger boulders in the back of the gym. Out of the dim light at the on the end of the field a figure appeared. He became instantly easier to see when he clapped his hands and some bright spot lights focused in on the battle field.

A man in his early twenties with the working outfit of a miner, complete with hard hat and sturdy boots, smiled and waved in new comers' direction. "Thank you for bringing them over here Nigel. Could you go get Steven and tell him we need him to judge?"

"Of course," Nigel replied, hurrying off.

"So, which one of you is my challenger?" Roark asked, putting his hands on his hips as he inspected the two.

"That would be me," Andrea said, stepping forward.

"Ah, splendid, it has been awhile since I've had such a pretty female opponent," Roark commented with a clap of his gloved hands.

Before Andrea could respond another man, who Andrea could only assume was Steven, came rushing up. After a brief exchange of pleasantries with Roark he rushed over to stand on a slightly raised platform next to the field.

"Now we can begin," Roark said. "Your friend can sit over there," he instructed, indicating some seat like boulders near the platform. Lucas hurried over to the indicated seats and sat down. "Now, do you know how a gym battle works, Miss…"

"Andrea."

"Miss. Andrea?"

"I kick your ass in a Pokemon battle and you give me a badge?"

"Not my wording choice, but basically," Roark confirmed with a nod. "So, are you ready?"

"Yep," Andrea said as Eve jumped down to the ground. Reaching for her belt she pulled out Zora's Pokeball and released the electric Pokemon. Firmly planting her paws on the ground, tail swishing slowly, Zora looked across the field at Roark, waiting for him to release his own Pokemon.

Smiling in a manner disturbingly similar to that of Nolan's from the day before, Roark reached for a Pokeball and released the floating rock from within. With an overconfident cry of "Geoduude," the Pokemon flexed its arms and gave Zora a condescending look.

"_Why can't we get any _normal_ opponents?_" Eve muttered at Andrea's feet, voice her trainer's own thought.

"Are the trainer's ready?" the referee asked. When both trainers nodded he gave a shout of, "Than let the battle begin."

Deciding that making the first move would be the best strategy, Andrea quickly shouted out an attack. "Zora, try spark."

The little electric Pokemon quickly gathered electricity and charged the other Pokemon. Roark, much to Andrea's surprise, did not order his Geodude to move but instead watched with a broad grin on his face as Zora collided with his Pokemon and…nothing happened.

"Shit," Andrea mumbled. Lucas had mentioned something like this yesterday when he had been going on about type advantages, hadn't he? Why, even when she was trying, could she not keep her full attention on the boy's explanations?

"I think it's my turn now," Roark said with a chuckle. "Geodude, rock throw."

With an affirmative "Geo," the Pokemon floated to the ground and picked up a rather large rock. With a small grunt he hurled it at Zora and caught the electric Pokemon a glancing blow as she dashed out of the way.

"Shit," Andrea swore again. "Looks like eclectic attacks aren't going to work. Zora, tackle then bite."

Zora rushed forward, leaping up to hit the floating rock Pokemon. As Zora's weight dragged them down and they tumbled to the ground the electric Pokemon bit down on the Geodude's arm. The attack did not have the desired effect however, probably doing more damage to Zora's teeth than to the Pokemon she was attacking.

"Shake her off Geodude. Then attack with rock throw again."

Geodude, trying to get back into the air, shook his arm and Zora, teeth unable to get a proper hold on the rocky flesh, was easily shaken off. As Zora fell to the ground Geodude quickly picked up another rock and hurled it at Zora, hitting the electric Pokemon directly on her exposed side.

Zora let out a loud hiss of pain when the rock hit but got quickly to her feet. Not waiting for the order to attack she charged leaped at the Geodude again, planning to bring it to the ground once more. The levitating Pokemon easily moved out of the way however and Zora flew past to land face first on the ground.

"Rock throw again."

"Come on Zora, move," Andrea shouted desperately as her Pokemon tried to re-orientate herself from her fall. She was unable to move out of the way and was hit square on by another rock. The rock hit with a loud and unpleasant thump, causing Zora to stagger on her feet before falling to the ground.

"Shinx is unable to battle, Geodude wins," announced the referee, holding up an arm to signal an end of the first match.

Andrea gave Zora's unmoving body a worried look before recalling her and releasing Roz. The bird Pokemon appeared with as much grandstanding as the Geodude had, flapping her wings with a loud cry of "Pidgg." With Roz's shout came the background noise that Andrea had become accustomed to after having to listen to it with her other two Pokemon.

"Ready? Battle," shouted the referee.

"Stealth rock," ordered Roark.

"Gust Roz," Andrea ordered at the same time.

Both Pokemon began their attacks as soon as the orders had left their trainer's mouths. Geodude, hands glowing slightly, clapped his hands together and raised them slowly. With his rising hands some of the rocks on from the stadium slowly came off the ground, to hover in an innocent manner near the edge of the battle field.

Roz's attack had a much more immediate effect. Hovering slightly in the air and pumping her powerful wings she started up a small twister of air, the vortex filling with dirt and rocks from the stadium as it headed towards Geodude. The rock Pokemon did not move out of the way of the attack in time and was assaulted by the strong wind and detritus. As Roz slowed the beating of her wings the wind died off, leaving a dazed looking rock Pokemon behind.

"Okay Roz, tackle," Andrea ordered.

Going from hovering near her trainer to shooting across the stadium like a small feathery missile in mere seconds, Roz soon barreled into the other Pokemon, sending it tumbling to the ground for the second time that day.

"Rock throw Geodude," Roark commanded, the slightest edge of worry in his voice.

As Geodude took back to the air, he picked up another large rock and hurled it at Roz, who had remained flapping over his head. Roz tried to move out of the way but was not fast enough, taking a hit from the rock that sent her to the ground. Shaking her head, Roz regained her feet and gave an angry squawk as she glared at her opponent.

"Back off Roz, then gust again."

Taking her trainer's advice, Roz moved away from Geodude with the hop-skip gate of a bird on the ground, making sure to keep an eye on the hovering rock Pokemon. Judging the distance was enough she took back to the air and began pumping her wings once more.

Again Geodude was caught in the swirling wind and once more, after quick order from Andrea, Roz shot into him with a tackle and sent him to the ground. Unlike the other times, Geodude did not get back up.

"Geodude unable to battle," announced the referee as Roark recalled his Pokemon. "Pidgey is the winner."

"You're doing well," Roark conceded as he enlarged his next Pokeball. "But you won't have such an easy time with my next Pokemon. Go, Onix," he shouted as he released the Pokemon.

The Onix came out with a roar and banged his large tail on the ground. Andrea craned her neck back, trying to see the head of the enormous moving pile of rocks. As the thing towered over her and made Roz look like some kind of small, feather covered plush toy Andrea realized why the ceiling was so high. So Pokemon like the Onix didn't bring it crashing down every time they were released indoors.

"_Oh shit_," came the mumbled comment near Andrea's feet. Looking down the teen saw her Eevee looking up at the much, much larger Pokemon with wide eyed panic. Before Andrea could say anything, Eve shouted in Roz's direction, "_Go get 'im Roz. I'm sure you can kick his rocky ass_." In a much quieter voice she mumbled, "_Please, please don't let me be wrong._"

Roz looked back at her fellow Pokemon and Andrea didn't even need to be able to understand what Roz shouted at Eve word for word to get the general drift. It was most likely something along the lines of, "Shut up before he hears you and gets mad. I enjoy being three-dimensional you know."

"Can you handle this mammoth Roz?" Andrea asked the bird Pokemon. Roz just flapped her wings in an irritated manner and turned back to Onix in way of a response. "Okay then," Andrea said with a smile at Roz's feathery back.

"Ready? Battle," the referee shouted.

"Onix, rock throw," Roark commanded.

Andrea just rolled her eyes, and watched calmly as Onix searched for a sizable rock. "Again with the rock throw. Dodge it Roz."

All calm was gone however when Onix bent down and clamped a large boulder from the side of the field in his mouth. Tossing his head in Roz's direction he opened his mouth and the huge rock went hurtling in the tiny bird Pokemon's direction. With a screech of horror Roz flapped hastily away, the boulder landing with a ground shaking thud where she had been moments before.

"What the hell?" Andrea shouted. The damned thing could have killed Roz. "Roz, aim a tackle for its head or something."

Furiously, Roz took to the air and went after Onix, aiming right between his eyes. She made contact but the tackle wasn't so much of a tackle as her crashing into Onix's head and bouncing away. Onix seemed relatively unfazed, simply shaking his head a bit.

"Roz, try for another-"

"Screech Onix," Roark shouted.

Opening his huge mouth, Onix let out an ear piercing shriek. Andrea covered her eras, cursing while Eve cowered down, pawing at her own ears. Roz, hovering in the air, seemed to freeze up and fell to the ground, getting herself back to her feet with a wince as the high pitched noise continued to assault her eardrums.

"Rock throw Onix." Onix picked up another rock in his mouth, this one much smaller than the last. Again he tossed it at Roz, this time hitting the bird Pokemon before she squawked and took to the air again. Her wing beats were labored and slow, but Roz did not look as if she intended to give up anytime soon.

"Quick attack Roz."

With a great burst of speed, Roz rushed Onix, aiming and hitting him in the head once more. Onix seemed rather unfazed by the attack though, something that caused Roz to give a frustrated shout of "Geyy."

"_She just called him a lummox_," Eve said, watching the scene with a look of horrified fascination.

"Why do I get the feeling that that will turn out to be a rather bad move?" Andrea asked, looking on with the same horror filled interest.

Onix glared at Roz and, against all the odds, seemed to become bigger, as if he had puffed up in anger. Roark, noticing his Pokemon's actions, smiled. "Onix," he said slowly. "Rage."

Eyes taking on a red hue, Onix brought up his tail and took a swip at the hovering Roz with it. The little bird Pokemon nimbly dodged but because of this did not see as Onix whipped his head at her. The rock hard skull connected with Roz, sending her to the ground. Vindictively, Onix brought his tail down on the felled Pokemon before looking down at the fainted bird Pokemon.

"Pidgey is unable to battle, Onix wins," announced the referee.

"_Oh shit,_" Eve said as Andrea recalled Roz.

Andrea looked down pityingly at Eve. "If you don't want to go up I'll understand. That thing is huge."

"_No, no, I'll go_," Eve said as she stepped into the stadium. "_I just wish Roz hadn't made him so mad before she fainted._"

"Well, try not to make him any madder, eh?"

Eve gulped as she craned her neck back father and father just to see the bottom of the other Pokemon's chin. "_I'll try._"

As Eve took her position on the field and the next round was stared, Andrea failed to notice that the floating rocks that Geodude had called up from earlier had begun to move in Eve's direction. The fact was brought to her attention when the rocks, some of them far sharper than any normal rocks should be, began to pummel Eve. The little normal Pokemon tried to move away from the rocks that were raining down on her but was unable to get away from the floating rocks.

The rocks eventually all fell back to the ground, leaving Eve battered and bruised, bleeding in a few places where some of the sharper rocks had stuck her.

"What the hell was that?" Andrea asked, glaring across the field at a smug Roark.

"That was stealth rock my dear. It attacks the opponent's next Pokemon to enter the field. It can be quite effective, especially against inexperienced trainers like yourself who don't know much about battle and attacks like that one."

Inwardly seething at Roark's inexperienced comment, Andrea turned to Eve. "How you doin'?"

"_Fine. Just give me a bit of help here. I have no idea how I'm supposed to take this guy down._"

"Think you can climb up him?"

While Andrea and Eve were talking, Roark had, unknown to the two females, commanded Onix to attack. That was why, when a large shadow formed over Eve, they were both surprised to look up and see a small boulder heading in the little normal Pokemon's direction. Swearing, Eve scrambled out of the way as the boulder came crashing down where she had been standing moments before.

"_I can climb up him_," Eve shouted over her shoulder, dodging another boulder that was hurtling in her direction. "_But why?_"

"So you can bite him in the nose," Andrea replied as Eve dodged another boulder. Roark obviously wanted to finish the battle and he wanted to finish it fast.

"_It that the best you can come up with?_" Eve shouted, sprinting in the direction of the rock Pokemon.

"Got any better ideas?" Andrea asked as Eve reached her opponent.

"_No,_" Eve replied, beginning to make her way up the Onix. The rock Pokemon tried to shake her off, but Eve eventually made her way to the larger Pokemon's head. Onix watched cross-eyed as Eve made her way to his nose.

"_This is so stupid,_" Eve mumbled before she bit down on the other Pokemon's nose. When that seemed to have little effect, Eve bit down a bit harder as she worried about her teeth.

The added pressure must have finally caused Onix some pain because he let out a bellow and shook his head violently. Eve was flung off the other Pokemon, only enough time to squeak in fear before she plummeted to the ground.

As Eve lay on the ground, dazed, Roark commanded another attack. Onix willingly obliged, picking up another rock and throwing it at Eve. The Eevee, still stunned by her fall, was unable to move out of the way and was hit.

After the attack Eve remained motionless, lost in the oblivion of unconsciousness. A few more moments and the referee raised his arm, signaling the end of the battle. "Eevee is unable to battle, Onix wins."

As Roark recalled Onix with a satisfied smile, Andrea rushed forward to gently pick up her unconscious Pokemon, cradling the limp lump of fur in her arms as she slowly straightened up. When she looked up from the prone body in her arms, Andrea was met by the sight of Roark making his way across the field in her direction.

"Nice match," he said with a pleasant smile. "Although you never had a chance against _me_, what with you not even having a badge yet."

"Yeah, okay," Andrea said with a roll of her eyes. Turning away from Roark, she looked in the direction of Lucas. "Hey, come get the money out of my bag will you? I want to pay this guy and leave."

Lucas nodded and rushed over to the traveling pack Andrea had left on her side of the field. Digging into the pocket he knew she kept her money pouch in, he pulled it out and took a few hundred Poke before putting the pouch back into the pack. He came over to the two trainers, handing the money over to the gym leader.

"There, now we're leaving. When I come back you had better be ready to get your ass kicked in a battle," Andrea informed the gym leader.

Before Roark could respond Andrea had walked back to her side of the arena, picked up her bag and began heading out. Lucas quickly apologized to Roark for Andrea's actions and hurried after her.

The two quickly made their way back to the Pokemon Center where Andrea handed her Pokemon over to the resident Nurse Joy. They both sat in the chairs as they waited for Andrea's Pokemon to be healed. Lucas had picked up one of the magazines off of the low table in front of them while Andrea just stared moodily off into space, thinking.

"Hey, Andrea, listen to this," Lucas said after awhile, not noticing his companion's mood. "Says here that wild Pokemon have been acting weird lately. Like attacking trainers and-" He stopped abruptly when Andrea, who had not been paying attention, got up and walked over to the counter.

"Your Pokemon will be ready short-" the nurse began.

"Good, good," Andrea said over her. "Hey, are there any good places around here to train?"

"Ummm…Many of the townsfolk train in the mine," the nurse informed her, a bit worried by the intense look the girl was giving her.

"Are there lots of rock Pokemon there?"

"Yes, of course," the nurse informed her. "Would you like directions on how to get there?"

"Yeah, sure," Andrea said with an eager nod.

Lucas watched as the nurse tried to give Andrea instructions to the local mine, eventually giving up and drawing the brunet a map. Shaking his head in exasperation, Lucas went back to his magazine until a shadow fell over the page he was reading. Looking up, he saw a grinning Andrea towering over him.

"I've got it all figured out," she informed him happily.

"Wonderful." He paused before he felt it was necessary to ask. "And what do you have figured out exactly?"

"How to beat that rock head's ass of course," Andrea informed him as if he was some sort of simpleton for not figuring it out on his own. "I'm going to go out and do some serious training. I'm not going to come back until I'm sure that we can beat that guy."

Lucas could not help the horrified look that crossed his face as he contemplated the thought of having to go along with Andrea as she did her "serious training." His look of horror only increased with her next statement.

"Stop worrying. I'm not having you come along. You can stay here, leave if you want, I don't really care."

"But what if you get lost?" Lucas asked with worry.

Andrea just frowned at him. "I don't get lost," she stated simply. Lucas paused a moment before arguing anymore, wanting to see if such a boldfaced act of denial of the facts would cause the universe to rip at the seams or some other such apocalyptic event.

When the world continued to stay completely undestroyed, Lucas tried a different tactic. "But-"

Whatever well thought out argument he had come up with while waiting for Armageddon was cut short by Andrea. "I'm not arguing this with you. I just told you my plans to be polite. I'm going to go grab my stuff, so if my Pokemon are healed before I get back, grab them for me."

Mouth agape, Lucas watched as Andrea walked off. He sighed when her retreating back turned a corner in the hall and went back to the magazine he had been reading. Before turning his eyes back to the magazine, he did not miss the sympathetic look the nurse threw his way.

---------------------------------------------------------------

AN: I know Roark's Onix in the game doesn't know rage but there is a reason he has it now. And sorry to all the Roark fans out there, I don't think I portrayed him in a very good light and he was generally out of character. I sort of dislike him for that badge comment he makes when you beat him in the game, something I know I shouldn't let affect my writing, but…Anyway, I'm warning everyone that I might not be able to update next week, so I apologize in advance if that happens. Thanks for reading the story and my ridiculously long author notes.


	8. In Which Training Happens

**Chapter 8: In Which Training Happens**

Standing outside of the Pokemon Center with Lucas and Eve, Andrea released her other two Pokemon. Both looked around before giving Andrea confused looks.

"Okay guys, here's the deal: We got beat today and we got beat good," Andrea began.

"_I am very sorry abo-_" Zora started to say.

Andrea held up a hand to stop her electric Pokemon. "If it's anyone's fault we lost today it's mine, I'm making that clear now. Be that as it may, we need some training, you guys to strengthen up and me to work on strategy."

"Piddggey," commented Roz. Still only getting the irritating background noise when Roz spoke, Andrea looked down at Eve for a translation.

"_She said 'If you've got enough strength, the strategy isn't so important,'_" Eve translated with a snort.

"You guys really shouldn't be doing this," Lucas said, still trying to convince Andrea not to go.

"Everyone just be quiet," Andrea snapped. Once there was silence again, she went back to her explanation. "Whether Roz's opinion is true or not, training is still needed if we want to beat that gym leader. Because of this, I asked the nurse for directions," here she brought out the map and flourished it, "to the town's mine. There are supposed to be a bunch of rock Pokemon there, so we can practice against them."

"_Sounds good to me,_" Eve commented.

"_A very logical plan of action_," agreed Zora.

"Pid gey gey," Roz said, with an enthusiastic flap of her wings.

Andrea smiled down at her Pokemon. "Glad you guys like the idea. I thought you could all stay out of your Pokeballs while we did this too. Any problems?"

Once more there were only positive reactions from the audience on the ground.

"Can you at least tell me how long you think you're going to be?" Lucas asked desperately, finally giving up to the fact that he would not be able to convince the older teen to come up with a less ridicules plan.

"However long it takes."

"Andrea," Lucas began. His voice fell on deaf ears however, because Andrea had already started off, talking to the exited Pokemon that swarmed around her.

Sighing, Lucas watched them go before turning back to the Pokemon Center. The nurse who had given Andrea the directions might be willing to tell him the museum hours. He had wanted to go there and now it looked like he would have a lot of time on his hands. He could only hope Andrea didn't get lost.

"Piddgey, pidd gey."

"_Roz say's we're going the wrong way._"

"This is the right way. Look I've been following this map, so we can't possible be lost."

"_I can see Jubilife._"

"Okay, so maybe we did take a wrong turn somewhere."

"_Well, since Roz seems to be able to figure out which way to go, let us follow her._"

"_Good idea Zora. At least some of us can be sensible about these things._"

"Be quite Eve."

"Pidd,"

"_Roz says you need to turn around completely before we can even _start_ getting you to head in the right direction._"

"Why do I get the feeling you added to that sentence Eve?"

"_Gosh, I have no idea._"

The nurse looked up as Lucas entered the Center, a worried look on his face. "Ah, Lucas. I have some good news about your friend."

The boy eagerly walked over to the counter. "Really? She's been gone for the last four days without any word and I was starting to get concerned…"

"Well, one of the townsfolk came in earlier and told me they saw a young trainer walk out of Oreburgh Gate with three Pokemon, so I'm assuming it was your friend."

Lucas let out a groan when he heard this. "I knew she would get lost."

"Well, don't worry about it," the nurse said, trying to reassure him. "Hey, I heard the museum was starting some special exhibits on ancient Pokemon tomorrow, why don't you go see it?"

"Might as well," Lucas said with a sigh. "I have a feeling it's going to be awhile before Andrea gets back…"

"Do I have to give you the money? This will be the sixth time and my wife is starting to think I'm gambling after work…"

"Hey, you're the one who wants to have a battle every time you spot me."

"Yeah, well, it gets really boring just working in this mine all day."

"It's your job choice bud."

"Come on kid."

"Fine, fine. Just point me in the way out."

"Like I told you before, just head straight. The exit is kind of hard to miss. You would have to have practically no sense of direction to get lost in here."

"_Gee, what a coincidence._"

"Shut up Roz."

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, don't' worry about it. Anyway, thanks for the directions."

"Hello Andrew," the nurse pleasantly greeted the miner as he walked up to the counter.

"Hey. Nurse Joy out today?" the miner asked as he handed over his Pokeballs.

"Yes, today's her day off," the nurse replied as she took the Pokeballs into the back room. "Won't this be your sixth day coming in after work," she asked when she came back.

"Yeah," the miner sighed. "Some kid is training in the mine and I keep running into her."

"Is she a brunet with three Pokemon and a slight attitude problem?"

The miner turned around to see a young teen with a red beret looking at him over a Pokemon magazine. "Yep, how'd you know?"

"She's my friend," Lucas explained. "She went off training ten days ago now."

"And she left you here?" the miner asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, although I've been learning a lot at the museum, so it's not all bad."

"Wish my kid was like you. Can't get him in that place if you pay him," the miner said with a little chuckle. He walked over to the seats and sat down next to Lucas, picking up a magazine of his own. "Anyway, hope your friend gets done training soon. You're going to get bored eventually kid, and then I might just have to deal with two teens wandering around that mine and beating me in battle."

Lucas blushed at the miner's assumption of his skill level. "Oh, I'm nowhere at Andrea's level when it comes to Pokemon battles. Thank you though."

"You must be special in some way kid, for a girl like that to let you stick around."

"So, who needs a Potion?"

"_Those things hurt like a bitch. I'll pass._"

"_I have to agree with Roz, those things sting. Pass._"

"_Thank you, but I am fine._"

"Okay, if you guys are sure. Anyways, who knows the way out? Roz?"

"_This place has my sense of direction all screwed up. I think it's because we're underground._"

"Fine. Zora?"

"_I am sorry, but I'm lost as well._"

"This place is like a maze, I'll give you that,"

"_Oh come on, it's basically a square with a few bits branching off here and there._"

"If you know so much, you get us out Eve."

"_I will. Although if you had followed the direction from that miner from yesterday, I wouldn't have to be doing this._"

"Hey, you. Yeah, you with the Pokemon. Let's have a battle, I'm bored."

"Shit, not again. What is up with these miners?"

"_Maybe you'll take this one's directions._"

It was the end of the second week since Andrea had gone off to train and, as had become habit, Lucas was sitting in the vestibule of the quiet Pokemon Center, rereading one of the magazines. He flipped one of the pages in a bored manner, wondering just how long it took a sane person to train.

Flipping to the next page, Lucas heard the Center doors open with a _whoosh_ and someone walk in the building, feet easily breaking the quiet of the Center as they carried their owner across the tiled floor.

Lucas did not look up from his magazine, having had his hopes dashed repeatedly in the last two weeks whenever someone entered the Pokemon Center. Plenty of people had entered and Lucas had looked up eagerly, expecting to see his traveling companion. Every time it had been a new trainer from out of town or one of the townsfolk that he was getting to know rather well. If it turned out to be someone from the latter group, Lucas would have someone to talk to for a bit, but that was the best he had come to expect.

He was actually starting to miss Andrea's swearing and general rough attitude. It was probably because he never spent much time around people even vaguely his own age. So when he had been forced to come along with Andrea he had found, much to his surprise, that he enjoyed her company. Sighing again as he thought about it, Lucas turned another page.

"How long will this take?" A familiar voice asked from the direction of the counter. Lucas's head snapped up, eyes wide.

"A few hours ma'am," Nurse Joy answered as she took two Pokeballs and a tired and unkempt Eevee from the shabby looking trainer in front of her.

"Good, I could use a shower. And a hot meal," the trainer commented as she turned around.

There stood Andrea, looking rather dirty and rumbled, but, plastered on her face, was that same confident look that Lucas had become accustomed to. She seemed pleased with herself as she strode in the direction of the bathrooms, and inevitably, the shower she wanted.

"Andrea," Lucas exclaimed, getting up from his seat and rushing over to her.

The other teen turned around and watched in horror as he rushed over and flung his arms around her, pinning her own arms to her side.

"I missed you. It was getting really boring without you around. I thought you had left me here all on my own."

"Get off of me," Andrea nearly shouted, shoving him away. Lucas just smiled at her, glad to see the person he had never expected to miss back. "God you're clingy. I see why the Professor pawned you off on me."

"What have you been doing for the last two weeks?" Lucas asked, ignoring both Andrea's comment and her frown.

"Training," she replied simply with a shrug. "Anyway, I'm going to go clean up. Then I'm going to get something to eat. I've been living off of power bars and water for the last few days and right now I just want something cooked."

"Okay, I haven't eaten lunch yet anyway, so get me when you head to the cafeteria. By the way, when do you plan on facing Roark again?"

"Tomorrow," Andrea replied. "I want to sleep in a bed too. Oh, and we're heading out as soon as we can after I win tomorrow."

As Andrea walked away, Lucas shouted after her, "Are you going to tell me how the training went?"

"No. You can see for yourself tomorrow," came the reply over the brunet's shoulder.

-------------------------------------------------

AN: I apologize not only for this chapter being super short but for it being generally lame as well. I was trying to figure out how to write Andrea's training and this idea popped into my head so I thought I'd try it out. When I went back to reread the chapter for spelling mistakes and stuff, I found it was rather unsatisfactory. But I still haven't come up with a new way to write this chapter and I've already made you all wait an extra week for it so I'm putting it up. This all being said, I feel sort of guilty about giving you all a sup par chapter to read, so I'm posting chapter nine at the same time too. Hope it makes up for this one, at least a little bit.


	9. In Which there is a Rematch

**Chapter 9: In Which there is a Rematch **

Andrea looked up from her cereal when Lucas slid himself and his tray onto the spot in front of her but soon went back to munching on the soggy mess in her bowl. Her Pokemon had already been fed and two of them were back in their Pokeballs while the third was curled up in a sleepy bundle next to her trainer. All Andrea had to do was finish her meal and she could head off.

"Hurry up," she told Lucas as she shoveled another spoonful of milk and cereal into her mouth. "I want to get moving."

Lucas nodded and began to eat faster, although Andrea still finished before him. He looked up when she stood, tray in hand, and, because his mouth was full, indicated for her to wait.

"I'll just be outside, hurry up," Andrea informed him before walking off to dispose of her tray, Eve in tow. Lucas watched her leave to make sure she was taking the right exit before he went back to his meal.

A short time later Lucas exited the Pokemon Center to find Andrea pacing in the road in front of the building, Eve sitting patiently nearby as her trainer tried to work out her apparent nerves through physical exertion. Andrea stopped her pacing and both females looked over at Lucas when they heard the doors open and close. Without a word Andrea picked up Eve and began heading in the right direction towards the gym, any signs of nervousness gone the moment Lucas appeared.

For the third time they stood in front of the gym and for the second time they walked through the doors. Like last time, Nigel was standing by the door to lead them to the battle ground. As they walked through the gym, Nigel tried to start up a conversation with the challenger.

"So, rumor around town is that you've been training for the last two weeks. That true?"

"Yeah," Andrea replied, not going into detail.

Undeterred by her curt response, Nigel continued. "That's a good bit of time. Think you're ready? You don't exactly have the type advantage if I remember. Unless you caught another Pokemon that does?"

"I've got a plan," Andrea told him, still keeping her answers as short as possible.

"Well, glad to hear it. Best of luck," Nigel said with a wave before walking off, having finally lead the two to their destination.

"I see you actually decided to challenge me again," Roark commented as the stepped up into the spotlight focused on the battle field. "Are you sure you've been out training long enough to beat me? Did you perhaps catch a water Pokemon while you were away?"

Andrea just stepped up to her position on her side of the field and crossed her arms after Eve had jumped to the ground. "Are we going to get started or what?"

"Well, I would hate to keep a lady waiting, so, without further ado…" Roark reached for his belt and pulled off a Pokeball. Enlarging the red and white sphere, he released the Pokemon inside and out materialized Geodude.

Andrea just smiled slightly, as if expecting Roark's move, and reached for one of her own Pokeballs. With a flash of red and a cry of, "_Time to kick some rocky ass_," Roz appeared. A look of slight confusion crossed Roark's face when he saw there was no apparent change in Andrea's party that gave her any kind of advantage. The confusion soon passed, his normal look of utter overconfidence returning. Without taking his eyes off of the two Pokemon now on the battle field, Roark waved his hand in the direction of the referee and his stand.

Acting upon his cue, the referee raised his hand and look at the two trainers. "Ready to battle? Begin!" he shouted, bringing his hand down in a quick chopping motion.

"Geodude, rock throw."

"Just dodge for now Roz."

Geodude quickly picked up one of the large rocks on the stadium floor and easily threw it in the direction of the overzealous bird Pokemon. Upon Andrea's order, Roz pumped her wings and took to the air, easily avoiding her opponents attack.

"Keep trying 'til you hit that bird," Roark ordered.

Goedude followed the command, picking up another rock and tossing it at the bird Pokemon fluttering around tauntingly above him. Once more Roz moved out of the way. Geodude continued to throw rocks and Roz continued to dodge. Eventually, as he began to show signs of tiredness, Geodude hit his opponent. With a cry, Roz fell in the air, only stopping herself from crashing into the ground at the last possible second.

"Okay Roz, time to go on the offensive. Gust."

"What's that going to do?" Roark asked with a laugh, smirking at the other trainer.

Both trainer and Pokemon ignored Roark's comments as Roz began to beat her wings, whipping up a small cyclone of dust and debris from the field floor. The attack engulfed Geodude, hiding him in the center of the vortex. Roark continued to smile, knowing the attack would do little damage.

"Now twister Roz," Andrea ordered with a smile of her own.

Roz began to pump her wings harder, the strong muscles she had built up while training being put to use. The wind around Geodude became stronger, bigger, more damaging. Finally the rock Pokemon was trapped in a raging vortex of air, being buffeted around hopelessly, hit by all manner of rocks that the wind had picked up.

Eventually the wind slackened, the vortex lost its shape. Then it stopped, collapsing in a shower of dirt and small rocks. A stunned Geodude, floating dizzily in the air, was the only thing that remained. Roark looked shocked at the use of the powerful attack but he quickly pulled himself together, ordering another rock throw from Geodude.

One the room stopped spinning, Geodude complied, picking up the largest rock he could and hurling it at Roz, who had landed on the ground with tired wings. Unable to move as well on the ground as in the air, Roz was unable to dodge the attack, the rock hitting her with a thump. Not making a sound, she tried to get back to the safety of the air. Roark had ordered another rock throw however and she was hit once more before she could finally become airborne.

Both Pokemon were tired, although Roz was doing markedly better than Geodude. Not wanting to drag the battle on longer than necessary and thus tire her Pokemon out for the next round, Andrea ordered the next attack.

"Twister Roz."

Once more, the bird Pokemon beat her powerful wings, bringing forth the dangerous column of air. Geodude tired to avoid it but was sucked into the attack to be tossed around like some rag doll.

When Roz stopped the attack Geodude was left hovering only a few inches above the ground, looking tired and dazed. Roz, still tired from the use of the powerful wind biased attack, landed on the ground again, watching her opponent intently.

"Roz, quick attack to finish this off," Andrea ordered when Geodude did not collapse.

Roz rushed forward in the jagged patter of a quick attack, barreling into the Geodude, who was still trying to recover from her last attack. The rock Pokemon was sent hurtling to the ground, where it landed in a cloud of dirt and rock. Roz stood, ready to move quickly in case the last attack had not worked and she was forced to dodge another attack from her opponent. Geodude stayed on the ground however, much to the bird Pokemon's relief.

"Geodude is unable to battle, Pidgey wins," announced the referee.

Grumbling to himself, Roark recalled his unconscious Pokemon. His hand hovered over his two remaining Pokeballs until he made his decision, releasing his next Pokemon.

As in the last battle, Onix towered over the much smaller bird Pokemon. Unlike the last battle however, Roz had much more confidence and felt quite capable of taking down the much larger Pokemon. Whether her feelings were founded or not would soon be determined as the referee started the next battle.

"Onix, stealth rock," Roark ordered as soon as the battle was started. The tip of Onix's tail began to glow as the rock Pokemon hit it on the ground. As he slowly raised the glowing tail, small rocks from the stadium floor began to rise as well, stopping to hover a few feet off the ground at the edges of the field.

"Twister Roz," Andrea ordered, watching her Pokemon's labored wing strokes as she took to the air.

Onix was engulfed in the powerful twister of wind, although his large size stopped him from being buffeted around as Geodude had been. Calmly, Onix waited out the attack, keeping an eye on his opponent through the wind and debris that surrounded him.

"Rock throw," Roark ordered the moment Roz's twister ended. Obediently Onix picked up a large rock in his mouth and tossed it in the direction of Roz. The bird Pokemon, not expecting the sudden retaliation, was unable to move out of the way in time and was hit by the projectile.

The bird Pokemon began to plummet to the earth but was able to stop herself from crashing a few feet off the ground. Breathing heavily, Roz regained the air she had lost and hovered at Onix's eye level, waiting for Andrea's next command.

She did not have to wait long, Andrea ordering another twister attack. Upon her trainer's command the tired Pokemon beat her wings once more, trapping the rock Pokemon in another twister. The attack did not last as long as the first and while Roz tried to catch her breath, Onix threw another large rock at her under Roark's orders. The rock smacked into Roz, sending her hurtling to the ground yet again.

Unable to pull off another gravity defying save, Roz fell unceremoniously to the ground and, after a failed attempt to get back up, the battle was called in Roark's favor. Glaring at Roark and his overconfident smirk, Andrea recalled Roz and pulled out Zora's Pokeball. Giving the innocent looking rocks that were floating at the edge of the field a look of anger mixed with worry, Andrea released her electric Pokemon with a soft, "Hang in there."

When the electric Pokemon was released there was enough time for surprised looks to cross the faces of Roark and Lucas before the rocks began to pummel the Pokemon mercilessly. Zora held her ground at the rocks bruised and nicked her flesh, waiting patiently for the assault to end.

When the rocks fell to the ground and the attack over, Zora shook herself from head to tail tip. Ignoring the pain from the attack, Zora took a step forward and looked up at her opponent, any trepidation she felt about facing a much larger Pokemon not showing.

"Zora evolved," Lucas finally said incuriously, staring at the electric Pokemon.

"Yes, thank you for that Mr. Obvious," Andrea said with a roll of her eyes before turning back to the match. She spared herself a moment to glance at the slightly larger and fiercer looking Zora, a smile flashing across her face. The smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared when she brought her mind back to the task at hand, the defeat of Roark's Onix.

Onix was giving Zora a slightly worried look, hesitating when Roark commanded him to attack with rock throw. Onix soon complied though, tossing a large rock in Zora's direction in a halfhearted manner. Zora easily moved out of the way, the rock landing where she had stood moments before with a resounding _thud_ and a small cloud of dirt.

"Leer Zora," Andrea commanded, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Yellow eyes narrowed as Zora glared at the rock Pokemon, causing Onix to back away slightly.

"Now bite," Andrea commanded.

Zora rushed up to Onix's tail tip and dug her teeth in as deep as possible. Onix turned his head to give his much smaller opponent an irritated look before flicking his tail and sending Zora to the ground. Quickly Zora got back to her feet, leering at Onix as she did so.

"Bite."

"Rock throw."

Zora rushed forward again and once more tried to sink her teeth into Onix's rocky flesh. The rock Pokemon snorted in an irritated fashion and flicked Zora off again. Before Zora had a chance to move past standing back up Onix picked up a rock and tossed it at the electric Pokemon. The rock hit, winding Zora, who stood there trying to regain her breath. Taking advantage of this, Roark ordered another rock throw. This time Zora was a bit more prepared and, while she was still hit, was able to avoid another direct hit.

Zora looked back at Andrea, who nodded. It was time to start the plan they had come up with to deal with Onix while training. It was a long shot, but it was the only shot they had. Andrea just hoped it worked because if it didn't Zora would defiantly end up loosing the match.

"_You, sir, need to speed up a bit if you want to beat me_," Zora said calmly as Onix gave her a confused look. "_And no, I am not referring to your attack speed, as I'm sure that's what you're thinking._" Onix's eyes narrowed as what Zora was implying occurred to him.

"Onnix," the rock Pokemon growled menacingly.

Roark, unable to understand the insult of his Pokemon's intelligence, simply ignored the entire conversation between the two Pokemon, ordered another rock throw. Vindictively Onix tossed a rock in Zora's direction and looked pleased when it hit Zora.

The electric Pokemon acted unfazed however, instead throwing another insult at her opponent. "_Is that seriously the best you can do? I've seen baby Pokemon with stronger attacks._" As Onix glared, becoming increasingly frustrated with the electric Pokemon, Zora snorted contemptuously.

That was the last straw for Onix, who puffed up in anger as he had in the last battle when Roz called him a lummox. Roark noticed his Pokemon's actions and, while confused as to the exact cause of the anger, quickly ordered an attack. "Rage Onix."

Eyes turning red with released fury, Onix brought up his tail, prepared to smash it down on Zora. Zora had moved out of the tail's range however, closer to the edge of the stadium and the towering boulders that surrounded the battle ground. Onix, with no other thought other than to attack his opponent, charged at Zora, great serpentine body moving forward with astonishing speed.

Hastily, Zora moved out of the way, leaving Onix to crash head first into one of the boulders situated behind where she had been moments before. Bringing his head up, fragments of rock from where head had met boulder falling to ground, the rock Pokemon looked around with red eyes, finally spotting the source of his anger on the other side of the arena.

Again Onix charged forward in a berserker rage and again Zora dodged out of the way, leaving him to crash into the boulder behind her. This time however Onix's flailing tail hit her as she ran past, casing Zora to be thrown to the ground with a cry of surprise and pain. Scrambling to her feet before the enraged Onix had a chance to properly attack her, Zora ran off to another edge of the arena, close to where her trainer was watching the battle intently.

Andrea flinched as the huge Pokemon crashed into a boulder uncomfortable close to her, coughing as the dust from the impact of the two rocks floated her way. Once the dust had settled and she could see the field clearly again, Andrea was glad to see Zora already at the other end, this time near a worried looking Roark. He seemed to have finally caught on to the plan but things were now out of his hands as Onix continued his wild rampage, determined not to stop until he or Zora fainted.

As the battle continued, Andrea watched with increasing worry as Zora continued with their plan. Zora was beginning to tire, a fact made obvious by her slowing speed and how close Onix was becoming at hitting her in one of his headlong charges. On top of that, Onix had hit Zora a few more times with his thrashing tail as the electric Pokemon ran past.

Andrea thought it would all be over as Zora stood panting in front of one of the boulders, the rocky bulk of Onix barreling towards her. At the last second Zora moved out of the way, allowing Onix to crash into yet another boulder. Quickly Zora took up her position at the other end of the arena, sides heaving and fur sweat soaked as she watched Onix shake his head and turn to face her.

Onix glared across the field at his opponent, hissing in anger. He made a jerky movement forward before he stopped, swaying on the spot, red hue fading form his eyes. Then, with a ground shaking _thump_, he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Onix is unable to battle, Luxio wins," announced the referee. From the sidelines Lucas cheered as Zora sat down heavily, taking the chance to regain her breath before the next round.

Frowning, Roark recalled Onix before grabbing his last Pokeball. "Think you can take down the next Pokemon like you did earlier?"

"Oh, please not another Onix," Andrea quietly pleaded to the heavens above.

Roark's grin was back as he released his next Pokemon. In a flash of red light a bipedal reptile appeared, kicking at the dirt as if ready to charge at any moment.

"Trainers ready?" asked the referee. When he received an affirmative from both he started the match.

"Cranidos, head butt," ordered Roark.

The dinosaurs like Pokemon eagerly followed his trainer's order, charging Zora head first. A rock hard skull smashed into the side of the tired Pokemon, sending her skidding backwards. Zora let out a cry of pain but stayed on her feet.

Andrea looked at the new Pokemon, the mystery of Roark's team. Unlike his last two Pokemon, this one did not appear to be made of rock, but from what she had found out he was supposed to specialize in rock type Pokemon, which she knew from experience were resistant to electric attacks. Looking at the panting Zora, Andrea decided she would have to take a chance.

"Zora, charge," Andrea ordered. Zora gave her trainer a confused look, knowing just as well as she did that electric attacks would not work against a Pokemon anything like Geodude or Onix, even if powered up. She still listened however, gathering and storing the electricity in her body and causing the star shaped tip of her tail to light up brightly.

"Good, now spark." Silently, Andrea prayed that the attack would work. Zora was too tired to take down the Cranidos but just maybe she could weaken the other Pokemon before Eve had to go up. If they couldn't beat Roark this time they would have to try later and Andrea highly doubted the strategy they had used to defeat Onix would work twice.

As Zora gathered even more electricity little yellow sparks began to discharge into the air and the tip of her tail began to glow even brighter. Quickly she rushed her opponent and collided with him, releasing the stored up electrical power upon the unfortunate Pokemon.

Much to Andrea's surprise and delight the powered up electric attack worked, causing Cranidos to stumble backwards as the electricity coursed through his body. As soon as Roark ordered another head butt however, Cranidos simple shook his head and charged Zora once more. This time the electric Pokemon went down as Cranidos slammed his thick skull into her own.

"Luxio is unable to battle, Cranidos wins."

Andrea recalled Zora, hoping that all of the electric Pokemon's effort would not be wasted in the final match. "You're up Eve," Andrea said, inclining her head in the direction of the field. With a soft sigh, Eve stood up and slowly onto the field, knowing how important her battle was.

The moment the referee started the match, Roark ordered Cranidos to use pursuit. Andrea told Eve to get out of the way but Cranidos followed her, no matter how fast she went or how sharply she turned, and eventually ended up slamming into her, sending her flying.

"Tackle, then bite," Andrea ordered once Eve had gotten back to her feet.

The little normal type rushed forward, putting as much of her strength behind the attack as she could. The tackle had little effect unfortunately, simply sending Cranidos skidding backwards a few inches. Before he had a chance to retaliate however, Eve had sunk her sharp teeth into his calf, biting down hard to pierce Cranidos's tough skin.

This time the attack had its full effect, causing Cranidos to screech in pain, shaking his leg in an attempt to dislodge Eve. Eve did her best to keep her teeth firmly stuck in her opponents leg but the jarring motion eventually became to much for her and she was forced to let go, flung to the ground.

"Head butt Cranidos," Roark ordered, all of his over confidence from before gone as he consternated on the increasingly close battle.

The rock Pokemon charged forward, head down, and crashed into Eve just as she regained her feet. She was knocked to the ground again as Cranidos's blue head connected with her own brown one. As lights appeared and exploded in her vision, Roark ordered another head butt, this one connecting with her side.

"Come on Eve, pull yourself together. You can do this," Andrea said encouragingly. "Get up and use quick attack okay? Come on Eve."

Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, Eve got back to her feet. When she was able to stand without feeling as if the ground was rocking under her, she darted forward, faster than the eye could follow, and collided with Cranidos. Like with the tackle, the attack had little effect but Eve, anticipating her trainer's orders, quickly bit down on the same leg as before.

Cranidos beat at Eve with his stubby arms until the blows to her head forced her to let go and back off. Roark ordered another head butt but Eve dodged to the side, her opponent rushing past her with no other effect then to ruffle her fur with the wind of his passage.

"Tackle again Eve, and hurry," Andrea commanded, taking advantage of the fact that Cranidos's back was turned to Eve.

Taking Andrea's advice about speed, Eve rushed forward and crashed into the rock Pokemon. Not expecting the attack form behind, Cranidos was sufficiently off balance to be sent sprawling face first into the dirt floor of the arena. He rolled out of the way before Eve could bite him once more and hurriedly got back to his feet.

"Come on Cranidos," Roark said, "let's finish this. Head butt."

Rushing forward again, Cranidos smashed his skull into Eve's side, getting revenge for her previous attack as she was knocked to the ground. Eve got back up shakily and rushed forward, tackling Cranidos again.

"Good job Eve. Now bite him again."

Following Andrea's order, Eve bit down on Cranidos leg again. Cranidos screeched in pain, shaking his leg and beating at Eve's head. The little brown Pokemon did not relent however, instead sinking her teeth farther into the other Pokemon's flesh. When Cranidos thought he would never be able to get her off, she released her hold on his leg and backed off. Before he could react, Eve rushed forward with a quick attack, hitting him in the same place she had just been biting down on. Cranidos grunted in pain as his new wound was slammed into. Eve nipped at the same place on his leg again before putting some distance between herself and the other Pokemon.

Andrea realized what Eve was trying to do and smiled. Eve was now focusing on one spot and inflicting as much damage as she could. If she could cause enough pain, as when Roz had been captured, Cranidos would faint. "Nice Eve. Keep it up," Andrea shouted.

Eve, concentrating on the battle, simply twitched her notched ear to show she had heard Andrea's encouragement. She rushed forward to bite down on Cranidos's leg again but he moved out of the way quickly, despite the leg injury.

"Head butt Cranidos," Roark ordered. Cranidos followed his trainer's order, rushing Eve and smacking into her side with his head. Eve was winded slightly but still darted in and sunk her teeth into her opponent's leg again. Before he could start trying to get her off again she had already released her hold and backed away.

The two continued in that manner for some time, Cranidos using head butt and Eve biting down on the same leg. Both were able to dodge a few attacks but the damage was piling up until both Pokemon stood facing each other, exhausted and out of breath. Both trainers looked at the two tired Pokemon, knowing that who ever got the next successful attack in would be the winner.

"Eve, quick attack," Andrea ordered the tired Pokemon.

"Dodge it," Roark hurriedly commanded his own panting Pokemon.

Eve rushed forward with a burst of speed that one would have thought impossible from her moments before. Cranidos attempted to move out of the way but the speed of Eve's attack combined with all of the damage his leg had taken resulted in him being unable to escape the normal Pokemon's attack. Eve knocked into to him and sent him toppling to the ground. There Cranidos lay until the referee called the match and Roark withdrew him.

Eve sat down, still try to catch her breath after the battle. When her breathing had returned to a normal pace she began to clean her fur of the dirt and blood that covered it as best she could, having no intention of getting back to her feet any time soon.

As Eve tried to return her fur to a respectable condition, Roark walked across the field to Andrea, digging in his pocket for something as he came. Finally he was standing in front of the teen, looking far less confident than he had when their battle had first begun.

Embarrassed, Roark rubbed the back of his head. "Well, this is embarrassing, I lost to a trainer without even one badge yet. But what can I say, you were strong and I was weak." He held out his other hand to Andrea, palm up. In the center of his gloved hand rested a small piece of metal, with a design very similar to the stylized Pokeball that appeared all over the place except it was grey and the bottom of the "Pokeball" was edged instead of rounded.

"According to league rules, as gym leader I need to present you with this, the official Coal Badge."

"_No need to sound so enthusiastic buddy_," Eve grumbled from her place in the field. Andrea just ignored her Pokemon's comment, instead taking the badge from Roark's hand.

"Thanks," Andrea said after she inspected the badge, marveling that so much effort had been put out to earn such a little thing.

"Yes, well, you definitely earned it. Well, here's your money," Roark continued, handing Andrea some crumpled bills. "And as an extra gift, I'm giving you this TM, you can teach certain Pokemon the move stealth rock with it," he added as he handed Andrea a small box. Andrea, who had already shoved the badge and money into a pant pocket, took the box and opened it, looking at the little disk sitting inside.

"Well, thanks again," Andrea said, closing the box and shoving it into her sweater pocket. "Eve, can you move?" Andrea asked, looking past Roark to her Pokemon.

Eve shook her head so Andrea snatched up her pack and went over to her Pokemon. Squatting down next to her, Andrea rubbed her between the ears before scooping her up in her arms. "You did wonderfully," Andrea told her quietly, grinning.

"_I know_," Eve replied, sounding immensely pleased with herself. "_You and Zora weren't the only one's who can think up strategies you know._"

Andrea just rubbed Eve between the ears some more as she headed back to Roark and Lucas, who was now standing next to the gym leader. "Well, come on," she said to her traveling companion once she had reached the group, "let's get going. Everyone needs a visit to the center and then I want to leave, remember?"

"You did really well," Lucas said as they walked away after saying goodbye to Roark. Andrea was in the lead with Eve in her arms, so the younger boy did not see her grinning with pleasure over the victory.

He did hear the pleased tone of her voice when she spoke though. "Yeah, everyone did really well. That training really helped."

"_I suppose it's a good thing we had to train for an extra week because you kept getting lost_," Eve commented sleepily from Andrea's arms.

"What she say?" Lucas asked, hurrying forward to be walking next to Andrea.

"Nothing," Andrea said as they left the gym and started out for the Pokemon Center. "Anyway, I have a question for you. Roark is supposed to work with only rock Pokemon right? 'Cause that's what I heard."

"Yes, he specializes in rock Pokemon. All gym leaders specialize in some Pokemon type."

"Well, why did Zora's electric attack work against that Crany-whatever? I thought electric attacks didn't work against rock Pokemon."

"It's Cranidos," Lucas informed her. "And electric attacks do work against rock Pokemon."

"Then why don't they work against Onixes and Geodudes?"

"Because," Lucas said, going into his lecture mode, "they are both part ground type as well. Electric attacks have no affect whatsoever against ground type Pokemon. Some Pokemon, Geodude and Onix being only two of many, have two types and thus can have the advantages and disadvantages of both."

"That's the most asinine thing I've ever heard," Andrea said, frowning at Lucas as if he had been the one who had come up with the system.

"Yes, well, you made up for it with good strategy. And Zora evolved! I can't believe you didn't tell me yesterday." Lucas sounded genuinely hurt by the fact that Andrea had not told him and the brunet found herself feeling a bit guilty.

"If I go off training again and someone evolves, I'll tell you," Andrea eventually promised him. Whether she told him that to get rid of his ridicules kicked puppy expression or to get her conscious to shut up, she was unsure. Either way Lucas brightened up and started talking again.

"Okay. Hey, what was in that box, I never heard?"

"Roark said it was something called a TM for that stealth rock move."

"Do you know what a TM is?" Lucas asked.

Dreading what would happen when she answered, but still feeling guilty enough to respond truthfully, Andrea answered, "No."

"Let me explain then. A TM, or technical machine, can be used…"

As they walked back to the Pokemon center, Lucas happily informing Andrea about TMs, the brunet found herself smiling slightly. She was happy, she realized as she looked down at the now sleeping Pokemon in her arms. Maybe getting back to wherever she had come from wasn't so important now she mused as they entered the Pokemon Center. But one thing had not changed from when she had started out into this unknown land. She still wanted, needed, to know who she was. And, she realized as she handed her Pokemon over to a smiling Nurse Joy, she could figure it all out, as long as she stuck with the team, the family, of Pokemon she was making.


	10. In Which Rowan is Nearly Mugged

**Chapter 10: In Which Rowan is Nearly Mugged by Spacemen**

Andrea looked at Jubilife in the weak light of early morning, the city a half hours walk away at most. She and Lucas had left Oreburgh as soon as her Pokemon had been healed the day before, Lucas recommending Eterna City as the best place for Andrea to get her next badge at. This meant they had to go all the way back to Jubilife and through another town and some, according to Lucas, huge forest. The lengthy sounding trip would, Andrea hoped, give enough time for her Pokemon to become strong enough to avoid a repeat of her first gym battle against the next gym leader.

"So, should we stock up before we head off or do we just stop at the Pokemon Center so you can tell your parents where we're going?" Andrea asked, breaking the early morning silence.

Lucas, in the lead as was becoming normal, looked back at her sleepily. "I told them before we left yesterday. We should stop and buy some more food before we head out though." He yawned before turning back to face the direction they were heading.

"Sounds good," Andrea replied. They had only woken up about an hour ago and while they had traveled together Andrea had found Lucas was at his least talkative around that time. Not that she minded, it was something she normally enjoyed, but the morning was unnaturally silent to her ears, so she turned her attention to the Eevee perched on her shoulder.

"How you feeling?" She asked. The day before, after Eve and the rest had come back form the nurse, Eve had been complaining about feeling funny and having a headache. The nurse had assured Andrea that there had been nothing wrong with the Pokemon when Andrea had asked, although she had given the teen an odd look for asking the question in the first place since the Eve seemed healthy enough.

"_Better. I still feel a bit off somehow, but it's going away. It was way worse right after that battle with_ _Cranidos, _" Eve replied.

"Well, if you start feeling bad again let me know," Andrea informed her in a concerned voice.

"_I will_," Eve assured her.

They continued their walk with Andrea talking to Eve and Lucas focusing on getting them to their destination. They soon entered the city limits, passing some trainers on their way out of town who greeted the two tiredly before heading off in the direction Lucas and Andrea had just come from.

"Oh no," Andrea said when they had only walked a short distance into the city.

"What is it?" Lucas asked, looking around frantically, trying to figure out what had warranted the look of horror that had just crossed Andrea's face.

"Look," Andrea said, pointing ahead of them in the direction of a man in a brown trench coat. "It's that crazy 'Looking' guy, or whatever he called himself."

Unfortunately for the two teens, Andrea's gesture had apparently caught the detective's attention. Smiling as if he had just run into two old friends who he had not seen in years, Looker came over to the two of them.

"Ah, my friends of justice. Is sad that you come on such a day when evil roams this city. Do not close your eyes to the evil that is here. Come find me if anything unusual is seen." Before Andrea or Lucas could say anything, he was already walking away from them, throwing last minuet instructions to them over his shoulder. "Remember, Looker is always there to stop the evil that is Team Galactic."

The teens watched as the man disappeared into the crowd that covered the city even at that early hour. When people started jostling into them, Lucas brought himself back to reality and tugged at Andrea's arm, signaling that they should start walking again. Shaking her head as if to clear it of the odd encounter, she followed after Lucas.

"What was that all about?" Andrea eventually asked as they walked farther into the city.

Lucas just shrugged. "I have no idea. But maybe we should keep our eyes open. For anything out of the ordinary."

"I for one am not going to walk around look over my shoulder because of the advice of a lunatic," Andrea said with a snort.

"He is odd," Lucas agreed.

They passed the Poke Mart on their way to the store with traveling supplies for people when Andrea called to Lucas to stop. "Just remembered I need to pick up some more potions," she informed him.

"Well, why don't you get what you need here and I'll go and get the rest of the stuff we need," Lucas suggested.

"Sounds good," Andrea replied, already heading for the Poke Mart's entrance.

"And stay inside the Poke Mart. I'll come get you when I have the supplies," Lucas told her.

"Why? I'll get done before you and-"

"No, you stay here," Lucas interrupted her. He had learned that the best way to deal with Andrea's stubborn personality was simply to be stubborn right back. Still, he expected a bit more argument from the older teen than what he got. Instead, Eve said something to Andrea, causing her to sigh in frustration and assure Lucas that she would stay in the store until he came to get her. Lucas briefly hesitated outside the Poke Mart after Andrea had went inside but eventually went off to complete his own task after convinced himself that if anyone could keep Andrea in check it would be Eve.

Andrea entered the small, blue roofed building grumbling to herself. She stopped when Eve told her to stop whining or get a sense of direction, but not before getting in a comment about pushy fur collars.

Walking over the pleasant blue and green tiled floor of the Poke Mart, Andrea headed for one of the shelving units in the center of the store. The shelving unit was filled with neat little rows of different Pokemon related goods, many of which Andrea had yet to learn the use for. Still, she reasoned, passing up the row of yellow plastic bottles labeled Antidote, if she hadn't needed it yet why get it? It would just add more weight to her pack. Eventually she found the small bottles of Potion nested between the larger Super Potions and some little boxes with Revive written on them in large letters.

Andrea garbed ten of the Potions, wishing she had taken one of the little baskets at the front of the store as she tried to hold her merchandise in her arms without dropping anything. Everything ended up tumbling out of her arms once she had reached the counter, although the lady at the cash register made no comment on her customer's apparent lack of common sense when it came to basics of carrying things while shopping.

"That'll be 3000 Poke please," the cashier said pleasantly after she had rung everything up. Andrea had to get her pack off and dig the money out but she found the money quickly and was soon shoving the potions into their designated pocket.

Stepping away from the counter, Andrea looked around the store in the vain hope that Lucas had showed up already. As she had known, he was still not back and she was still stuck in the store unless she wanted to listen to Eve scolding her. Still, the lady at the cash register was stating to watch her intently as she continued to hover in the store after making her purchase and she really didn't want to stay in the place anyway…

Without a further thought Andrea headed out of the store into the bright sunlight and loud noise of the city.

"_Andrea, you're supposed to stay inside the store_," Eve reminded her testily.

"I'm just going to stand out here, okay?" Andrea said, scowling.

"_I really don't believe you._"

"Look, I'm taking off my pack again-move so I can get it off-I'm putting it down next to me, I'm leaning against this wall right here. Sure looks like I'm staying here." Following each statement with the action, Andrea was soon leaning against one of the Poke Mart's walls, watching the people in the crowd walk by. Eve just sighed and resettled herself on Andrea's shoulder so she could watch the people in the crowd too.

Both watching the crowd, neither missed the two oddest specimens of the human race they could remember seeing pass by. One was male and the other female, with the only way to tell being the fact that one was wearing some kind of odd dress version of the white and black uniform the two wore. On the chest of the uniforms, like some sort of company advertisement, was a large, yellow G. The uniforms were not the oddest thing about the two people in the crowd, who had hurriedly moved past Andrea and Eve's place near the store. It was instead their hair, short, bright blue bowl cuts for the both of them, although the female's appeared a bit longer.

Andrea and Eve continued watching the two until they turned a corner and the trainer and her Pokemon lost sight of them. Andrea just shook her head at the absurdity of the two as Eve commented, "_What's up with the spacemen?_"

"How should I know?" Andrea asked, going back to watching the crowd.

"_Blue hair and spacemen outfits,_" Eve mumbled, shaking her head in amazement at just how weird humans could be before she went back to watching the crowd as well.

As is normal in big cities, Andrea and Eve saw a good smattering of other oddly dressed people walk by, although none quite came close the utter ridiculousness that was the two people with the blue bowl cuts. The two were commenting on a girl who had just walked by in some kind of pink dress with a skit that was puffier than anything the two had previously thought possible when Lucas showed up.

"I got here as quickly as I could," Lucas said when he was within hearing range. Andrea just nodded as if that was to be expected and took the plastic shopping bag Lucas handed her. With more care than she had taken with the potions, Andrea put her half of the provisions into her pack before placing it back on her shoulders.

"Let's get going," Andrea said, starting to lead the way out of the city, going in the correct direction for once. Lucas soon took the lead though, not wanting to wait for Andrea's sudden luck with directions to run out and end up lost.

They made there way through the city, heading north. On their way they ended up passing a large, cube shaped building with a set of huge satellites at the top, people coming in and out in a constant flow. Andrea asked what the place was, which resulted in one of Lucas's longwinded explanations that could have easily be summed up as: It was the Jubilife TV station. Andrea just tolerated Lucas and his lecture, reminding herself she needed to stop asking the boy questions unless the answer would give her knowledge of some dire importance.

An example of one such question, Andrea decided as she looked down an ally, was the one she was just about to ask. Lucas couldn't take forever answering it either, an added bonus in her mind.

"Hey, am I seeing things, or is that Professor Rowan about to be mugged by a couple of spacemen?" Andrea pointed down the ally at a small group of three, two members of which had blue colored hair.

The look on Lucas's face when he saw the scene could, to Andrea, only be described as comical. Before she could even start wishing for a camera though, Lucas was rushing over to the ally that housed the Professor and his assailants. "We have to go help him," he said urgently to Andrea before taking off.

Andrea followed over at a slower pace and arrived in time to hear the end of the spacemen making their demand. "…So you can give us the research willingly or we'll make you give it to us," the male of the two was saying, the female nodding in agreement.

"Oh, and just how do you plan to do that?" Rowan asked, arms folded, having yet to see the arrival of his two rescuers who stood back, listening to what was going on.

"We were thinking of extending our hospitality and bringing you to our base," said the female, bringing out a Pokeball. "Of course, if you don't want to take us up on that offer, there are…other means of persuasion we could try right here, although more painful, I assure you."

"Professor! Are you okay?" Lucas shouted, having heard enough of the conversation. The Professor, along with his assailants, turned their attention to the two standing behind them.

"Go away little children, this is grown up stuff we're talking about," said the female, frowning at the two. It was that comment that made Andrea decided that she was not going to leave the entire situation up to Lucas unless he desperately needed help as she had been planning but to instead get involved herself.

"Ah, Lucas. And Andrea too. What a pleasant surprise," Rowan commented as if he had met the two young people out on the sunny street and not while he was being menaced in some out of the way corner of the city. "I had heard you two would be passing through here again from your parents Lucas but I did not expect I would run into you."

"Shut up old man," snapped the male spaceman.

"Oh, just go away you ass. Picking on old men, honestly, can you be a lamer thief? And you two aren't exactly dressed for getting away unnoticed," Andrea pointed out as she rolled her eyes, fed up.

As the male spluttered in indignation the female turned to Andrea, angry. "Listen here little girl. We are members of the notorious Team Galactic, destined to rule this world one day soon. It is the best interest of everyone, especially meddlesome little children who could easily get hurt, to mind their own business and let us go about ours."

The woman turned away from Andrea as if the only threat she posed was that of the young child she kept calling her. "Now, Professor, are you going to cooperate? If you do not we will not only be forced to use drastic measures to deal with you but also the two children behind us that you apparently know."

Rowan just smiled slightly before he spoke. "Now see here young woman, there are a few things I think you need to know before you start making threats. First, threatening people is not the way to get what you want. Second, I believe from now on you should both learn to choose your words more carefully when speaking to people since you seem to have offended some of us here and I think that was a very bad idea." Here Rowan looked past the female to Andrea, who was scowling at the woman's back, fingering two of the Pokeballs on her belt as if considering releasing the creatures held within. Smiling a bit more broadly, Rowan continued. "And thirdly, you two are dressed ridiculously. Honestly, how can you even consider setting good examples for younger generations by walking around dressed by spacemen lacking a fashion sense?"

Both of the Galactic grunts, fed up with the lack of respect they were receiving from the people who should be in utter fear of them, released their Pokemon, prepared to take out the children and kidnap Rowan and general make themselves more secure about their bad-guy-ness.

Rowan watched as a Glameow and a Stunky were released before he nodded in the direction of Andrea and Lucas. "I believe you two can handle this. I'll just watch if you don't mind."

"I should have seen this coming," Andrea said, stepping forward. "You get them all mad then leave the clean up work to Lucas and me." Despite her words, Andrea was smiling, although when the two Team Galactic members saw that smile they began to wonder if they were about to take on more than they could handle. They soon reminded themselves that they were members of the mighty Team Galactic and both had their Pokemon turn to the bothersome brunet and the Eevee that had just jumped off of her shoulder.

"Come now Lucas, help Andrea out. The two of you can take on these poor examples of the human race on easily enough," the Professor said from his safe position behind the two poor examples and their Pokemon.

"Oh, uh, right Professor, right away," Lucas said as he quickly stepped up next to Andrea, nodding his head. Bringing out a Pokeball, he released an orange, otter like Pokemon who materialized next to Eve, twin tails spinning like a motor briefly before they came to a halt.

"Ha, you two think you can beat us?" the male Galactic team member asked, laughing.

"Prepare to face defeat kiddies. And I hope you said goodbye to your Pokemon because we're taking them once you loose," the woman informed them, grinning.

"I'd like to see you try," Andrea said, grinning right back. "Eve, tackle one of them."

"Buizel, water gun and aim for Glameow."

Eve charged Stunky as Buizel opened his mouth and shot a stream of water at Glameow. Both Pokemon were hit by the attacks, Stunky being sent crashing into the side of the ally, Glameow left soaking after being hit by the blast of high pressured water.

"Stunky, screech," ordered the man.

"Glameow, scratch that Eevee's eyes out," ordered the woman.

The little skunk Pokemon opened its mouth and let out an ear piercing scream that had Pokemon and humans alike covering their ears. Eve crouched down on the ground, paws pulling her long ears down. Buizel was covering his ears as well and even Glameow was trying to block out the noise. Once Stunky closed its mouth however, Glameow rushed foreword and raked a set of razor-sharp claws down Eve's face. The Eevee, who had been experimentally releasing one ear, reeled back with a cry of pain. Buizel, under Lucas's command, shot another water gun at Glameow, sending the cat Pokemon skidding backwards with a hiss.

"You okay Eve?" Andrea asked worriedly.

"_Fine, fine,_" Eve assured her, opening her eyes to find they were still working. She had a stinging pain going down half her face however and wanted to return the favor to her attacker.

"Glad to hear it. Use bite on that Glameow thing then."

Rushing forward, avoiding a sweep from her opponent's claws, Eve sunk her teeth into one of her opponent's delicate back legs. When Glameow hissed loudly Eve, vindictively, bit down harder. Busy consecrating on Glameow, both Andrea and Eve missed as the male grunt ordered Stunky to use scratch. They did noticed when Stunky joined the fray, slashing his own sharp claws through fur and flesh down Eve's side. Eve released her opponent quickly after the attack and hurried back to stand near Buizel.

"Quick attack on Stunky Buizel," Lucas ordered.

"You do the same to Glameow," Andrea told Eve.

Both Pokemon rushed forward as a lightening fast pace, ramming into their opponents and sending them crashing backwards. Both of the Galactic grunts ordered their Pokemon to use furry swipe, sending one each after each of their opponents. Stunky went after Buizel, swiping at the orange otter with his claws and hitting his target three times, leaving long red gashes on the other Pokemon's body. Glameow went after Eve, getting in four hits and adding more of Eve's own blood to the Eevee's fur.

"Bite."

"Water gun."

Eve went after Stunky, tackling and pinning the other Pokemon to the ground before biting deeply into one of his flailing legs. Buizel shot another stream of high pressure water at Glameow, causing the cat Pokemon to hiss and gladly, once the order was given, to use scratch on the water Pokemon. Once the attacks were over, the Pokemon backed up near their trainer's, eyeing each other as they stood there panting.

"Shit," Andrea mumbled, surprised that the Team Galactic members were putting up a reasonably good fight.

"I have an idea Andrea," Lucas said slowly to his partner.

"Let's hear it then," Andrea said impatiently, keeping her eyes on the battle.

"Well, Buizel knows this move that could hit both of them at once, but, well," Lucas hesitated, wondering if his suggested would end up sounding ridicules when he finally got it all out.

"Spit it out," Andrea snapped.

"Well it would hit Eve too," Lucas finished hurriedly.

"_I can handle it Andrea,_" Eve, who had been listening to the two trainers talking, said confidently.

Andrea frowned deeply, folding her arms over her chest, before she sighed. "Well, if it's the best you can come up with to end this quickly…"

"It should end things," Lucas told her, sure he was right.

"Well, go on then. Eve try to at least avoid some of the attack if you can."

"Okay, here it goes," Lucas said. "Buizel, sonic boom."

Buizel's twin tails began to glow as the Pokemon rushed forward and jumped in the air. The tails began to glow brighter as Buizel flipped over in the air, brighter still as the Pokemon neared the ground, finally hitting the ground with a flash. A brief pause and suddenly the ally was filled with noise far louder and more painful to the ears than any screech attack.

Both Glameow and Stunky were downed when they were hit by the mighty wave of sound while Eve was left stumbling around and looking disorientated. As the Galactic team members recalled their Pokemon Andrea hurried forward and scooped up Eve, who was still trying to re-orientate herself after the attack.

The two Team Galactic members shoved past Andrea and Lucas, turning back to the two once they had reached the ally mouth. "Just you wait," shouted the female, voice shaking with rage, "we'll take over one day and you'll regret this. When you're lying injured somewhere with your Pokemon stolen, you'll regret this."

"I'll believe you when you can back up those words," Andrea shot back. With a last shout of "You'll regret this," from the male the two rushed off, leaving the Professor and two teens alone in the ally.

"Splendid job you two," Rowan said once his two would be muggers had vanished. Walking up to the two, he put a hand on each of their shoulders, something that earned him a glare from Andrea. "Truly splendid job. You did very well Lucas. And I can tell you've been training with Eve Andrea." While he was talking he started leading them out of the ally, leaving Lucas to quickly recall Buizel with a rushed congratulation to the water Pokemon.

"Why are you in Jubilife anyway Professor?" Lucas asked as the old man lead them in the direction of the Pokemon Center.

"I was asked to speak at the Trainer's School. I had some time afterwards and was looking at some of the tourist attractions when those two delinquents cornered me in the ally. Good thing you and Andrea showed up when you did."

"Who were those goons?" Andrea asked. "They said they were from some Team Galactic, right? Who are they?"

"I am not sure," Rowan replied with a frown. "I have heard rumors about an organization with…unpleasant plans for this world, but this is my first encounter with them. I must say though, their group's name is strikingly familiar to that of a major power company in the region. Odd…" Rowan trailed off as he frowned, thinking.

With a small shake of his head his smile returned and he brought himself out of whatever dark thoughts he was having. "Well Andrea, I see you have two new Pokeballs on your belt. What did you catch?"

"A Pidgey and a Shinx," Andrea replied, shifting the weight of the now sleeping Pokemon in her arms.

"The Shinx has evolved already," Lucas added dutifully, wanting to keep the Professor fully informed.

"Really?" Rowan said, sounding pleasantly surprised. "That is wonderful. And since you two are here I can safely assume that Andrea was able to obtain her first badge?"

"Yeah, I got it," Andrea said with a nod, a tinge of pride in her voice.

The small group stopped outside of the Pokemon Center, having to move out of the way when the doors slid open and two happily chatting trainers came out. The three of them watched the two disappear into the crowd until Rowan turned back to the two teens. "I have heard some interesting things Andrea," he began slowly.

"I suppose they have something to do with talking to Pokemon," Andrea said.

"Yes. It truly is fascinating. Now, Lucas said you could only talk to your Pokemon, is this still true?"

"Yeah," Andrea replied, shifting her feet. The line of questioning was making her a bit uncomfortable and she simply wished the old man would leave her alone about one of the many things that made her different.

"If this changes, please let me know. I was thinking, maybe this is a skill given to you by the Pokemon of the lake. It is possible, since it is like a form of 'knowledge' you get from this skill." Rowan seemed to be voicing his theory about Andrea's gift more to himself than anyone else, although Lucas was listening intently.

"The reason I can understand my Pokemon is the least of the things I want to figure out," Andrea commented, lowering her voice as a lone trainer left the Pokemon Center they were standing by.

"I suppose it would be," Rowan said with a nod. "Well, I must thank the two of you again for your help before I leave you. Oh, and Andrea, Dr. Maple said if I ran into the two of you I was to tell you to stay out of trouble and listen to Lucas so you don't get lost." Smiling, Rowan said good-bye and left, ignoring the indignant noises Andrea had started to make after he had given her the doctor's message.

Lucas waved as the Professor left, bringing his hand down and sighing once the old man was out of sight. "Well, I'm glad the Professor is okay," he said as the two of them entered the building.

"Whatever," mumbled Andrea.

"We'll have to head out tomorrow for Floaroma now though, it'll be too late to really make any good distance after we get our Pokemon back," Lucas commented as they headed up to the counter to hand the Pokemon that had battled the Team Galactic members with to the nurse. The pink haired woman smiled as she took Lucas's Pokeball and the sleeping Eevee, leaving the trainers to find a seat and wait for their Pokemon.

"Fine," Andrea said, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes. "Wake me up when Eve gets back." A few minutes later her breathing had slowed and when Lucas said her name questioningly there was no response.

Lucas just shook his head and reached for one of the magazines on the table in front of them, glad to see they were different than the ones at the Pokemon Center in Oreburgh.

~~**~~**~~**~~

The sky had turned dark hours ago and the fire had become nothing more than glowing embers awhile back. Stars and a waning moon shone down on the ground, giving their poor substitute for the light of the sun under which the Pokemon of the night lived their lives. Those same Pokemon could be heard moving around in the darkness around the small campsite set up by the two trainers near the exit to the Ravaged Path, small chirps and rustles and squeaks in large enough abundance to keep awake anyone who was not exhausted by a day of travel.

Andrea shifted on the sleeping bag she was sitting on to make the ground more comfortable as she kept watch. Her back was to the small glow that had once been their fire and Lucas slept a few feet away, not to be disturbed from his slumber until his watch came up in a couple of hours. Andrea debated checking her Poketech to see the time but did not want to ruin her night vision with the watch's glowing screen simply to see how long she had until she could go to sleep.

Next to her on the sleeping bag a tight bundle of brown and tan fur snuffled slightly before shifting in its sleep. Gently, Andrea reached out her hand and stroked her sleeping Pokemon's fur, watching the night without fear.

When they had started traveling, Lucas and Andrea had soon gotten into the habit of Andrea taking first watch and Lucas taking second. When multiply trainers traveled together, Lucas had explained when they first started out, it was best for them to spend part of the night on watch. Have someone keep an eye out for any Pokemon hungry enough to raid human packs for food or keep an eye out for the far less frequent and more dangerous human thieves. Also, Lucas had added, there were increasing reports of wild Pokemon attacking trainers unprovoked and, hey, you couldn't be to careful, right?

Andrea did not mind sitting up for watch, always enjoying it until she had to deal with the consequences getting up the next morning. The night held no fear for her because she was confident if she could not handle whatever came to menace them her Pokemon certainly could. She moved her legs, to keep them from falling asleep, and went back to stroking Eve, staring into the night with-

_-fear. A young Andrea clutched the wooden staff, a good foot or two bigger than her, to her chest, repeating to herself that everything would be fine, as if the simple repetition of her hope would make it come true. Standing near her, also keeping guard, and showing less fear, was a large black dog. _

_Her aunt and uncle, the two people who had taken her in when her parents had died when she was younger in some terrible incident no one talked about, had decided that Andrea, a girl of ten, could help keep watch on the important heard of cattle that the traveling group they belonged to cared for. The cattle were more important than some little girl who got lost to much and was more trouble than she was worth in these hard times, especially when the two adults would rather sleep than take their shift on guard duty._

_Andrea jumped when there was the sound of movement in the darkness behind her, heart pounding heavily in her chest. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief when the low, unworried "Mooo," of one of the cattle followed the sound. The dog moved slightly next to her as she clutch tightened on the staff._

_Things would not be so bad, the fear filled brain of young Andrea reasoned, if people had not gone out of their way to warn her of the "monster" that lived out there. Yes, she had to worry about the roving bands of human thieves and slavers, of course, but she should really worry about the monsters, creatures whose numbers had been steadily increasing since the time of the Last and Great War. Creatures that could breathe fire and rip her to shreds and, her uncle had told her with what had appeared to be particular relish, quite willing to eat her should she ever run into them._

_The young Andrea had been warned about the "monsters" since she was old enough to understand the concept and, while she had never run into any herself, even when she got lost in the wilderness, she feared them with a deep, cold terror that filled her entire body. It did not help that people really did seem to disappear sometimes, nothing left but a torn, bloody scrap of clothing and the signs of a struggle in the dirt. _

_Young Andrea's heart began to race again as she heard another noise in the depths of the darkness, a noise that-_

-turned out to be Eve worriedly saying her name, paws on Andrea's thigh as she looked up into her trainer's face. Andrea tired to shush her, rubbing her behind the ears, telling her to calm down, everything was fine. Eve did not listen to her trainer's words however, continuing to worry and fuss over the girl that she said had only moments before been sitting stiffly and unresponsive, staring off into space and looking as if some unnamed horror was about to come out and eat her.

"One might have been," Andrea mumbled distractedly, trying to remember where she had put her pack so she could take out her headache medicine. Like with the other two times she had been struck by a moment from her past she had a head splitting headache that made her wonder if remember her past was really worth it.

"_One what might have been what?_" Eve asked suspiciously, stopping her tirade.

"Just something. Don't worry about it." Andrea said as she found her pack in the dark and began digging through the pocket that held the headache medicine. She did not want to talk about her memories, even with her Pokemon, who she trusted and liked more than any of the people she had met so far.

"_Andrea, you are telling me what you remembered right now,_" Eve commanded as Andrea swallowed the pill, wishing it would work instantly. "_Actually, you're telling me everything you remember. No, you're telling me, and Zora, and Roz. You can tell them the entire story at the same time. They're not going to care where you're from, before you give me that excuse._"

Not waiting for the protest she knew would come, Eve walked over to the side of the sleeping bag closest to the remains of the fire and picked up the belt containing Andrea's Pokeballs in her teeth. The normal Pokemon dragged the strip of leather in front of her trainer and dropped it. Sitting in front of it and looking at her trainer sternly, she said, "_Let them out._"

"Eve, I really don't think-"

"_Do it,_" the ball of fluff snapped. The command seemed to bypass her brain and go straight to Andrea's hand because the girl soon found herself looking at two sleepy Pokemon.

"_Yes?_" Zora asked through a huge yawn as she stretched.

"_Andrea has some stuff to tell all of us. She's been keeping things from us,_" Eve informed her two companions, each word chilly and directed more at her trainer than the other two Pokemon.

"_Who stepped on your fluffy tail? And what could Andrea possible have not told us that's got you so pissed, so early?_" Roz asked, yawning herself.

"_I already know part of it,_" Eve said. "_I'm going to let her fill you guys in on the details, but, basically, she's not from here._"

Eve was still shooting angry looks at Andrea. Andrea was going to defend herself, but decided not to. She knew why Eve was so angry. The Pokemon felt betrayed, she was sure, as if Andrea did not trust her enough to share this important part of her life with her. That was not the case of course; Andrea just didn't want to make her Pokemon finally realize that she was to weird or to crazy or to different to be worth the effort of sticking around for. Andrea wasn't sure if she could handle any of her Pokemon thinking that about her and so had told the other two nothing about how she had ended up in Sinnoh.

"_I thought your accent was a bit different from that of other people,_" Zora commented, as if some great mystery that had been bugging her had just been solved, "_Where are you from then? Kanto, Hoenn, Johto?_"

"None of those places," Andrea replied, not looking any of her Pokemon in the eyes. Dam it, why did Eve have to go and tell them? She could not lie to them, not about this, not about anything really.

"_You got to be from one of them,_" Roz told her.

"Well, I'm not," Andrea said slowly. "Look, guys, it's not a big deal. How about you just go back into your Pokeballs and back to sleep?"

"_Oh no, I'm curious now,_" Roz said with a shake of her head.

"_This does sound interesting,_" Zora commented, sitting down in a comfortable position next to Roz.

"_It is, trust me,_" Eve grumbled from the seat she had just taken on the Luxio's other side. Andrea tried to protest some more but in the end she was out voted and forced to tell them her story.

Andrea told them what she knew, which wasn't much, and everything that was suspected, which was considerably more. She told them about the laugh and the beating and the bird and the guard duty with its monsters. She told them about her plan to find out the rest of her past and about how she no longer wanted to find out about a way home, although knowing why she wasn't there anymore would be nice. She told them about everything and the entire time she looked intently at her lap.

When she was done she shifted nervously on the sleeping bag, and, simply so she could put off looking at her Pokemon a bit longer, she finally checked the time on her Poketech. There was still an hour and a half until it was Lucas's turn to take over the watch. Finally she could put it off no longer and she looked up at her Pokemon.

Eve was looking at her with sad eyes, while Zora and Roz just seemed shocked. No one said anything.

Andrea felt, now that they knew everything, she should make two of her Pokemon the same offer she had Eve when the Pokemon had first found out. "If you guys don't want to stay with me because of this, I'll completely understand. You just have to, like, tell me."

"_You're kidding right?_" Roz asked, sounding insulted.

"_Yes, why would we want to leave?_" Zora asked, also seeming a bit hurt that Andrea had thought they would leave her. As the two voiced their indignation, Eve sat with a smug look on her face, silently saying I told you so.

"_Now, about these monsters…you think we could beat 'em up?_" Roz asked after she and Zora had continued on a bit about how they were not leaving, even if Andrea turned out to be some space alien or something.

"_Now why would we fight them?_" Zora asked.

"_Because they sound tough,_" Roz answered, making it sound as if Zora had missed the obvious.

"I don't think so, manly because I'm from a different world, so the monsters must be too." Despite the fear that the monsters had given her in her memory, Andrea smiled now as Roz talked about them, felling safe again.

"_I mean, like, hypothetically do you think we can beat some creature of the night ass?_"

"_Stop being such a bloody minded idiot Roz,_" Eve said.

"_I'm just wondering,_" the bird Pokemon huffed.

"I'm sure you guys could," Andrea said with a smile.

"_Don't encourage her,_" Eve groaned.

Her Pokemon had taken everything she had told them well, almost as if they had somehow known it all along. Everyone was acting normal, a fact Andrea took as a great comfort.

"Well, you two ready to head back to bed?" Andrea asked after Eve and Roz had argued a bit more, Zora looking on with amusement.

"_Are you sure you don't want us to stay up with you?_" Zora asked solemnly. Despite the joking that had just occurred over the topic, the electric Pokemon could tell Andrea was still a bit scared after what she had remembered.

"No, I'm good," Andrea said with a shake of her head. "There's nothing to be scared of here, especially since I've got you guys."

Roz puffed up a bit at the praise and even Zora and Eve seemed pleased. With a quick good night Andrea recalled Roz and Zora, Eve joining her on the sleeping bag to look out at the night with her.

"You can go back to sleep," Andre told her, running a hand along her Pokemon's back.

"_I'm not tired anymore. I'll stay up for the rest of your watch with you._"

Andrea just smiled into the darkness and continued to pet her Pokemon, calm once more.


	11. In Which there are Problems with Flowers

**Chapter 11: In Which there are Problems with Flowers**

Flowers, flowers, and more flowers. One could not look anywhere without spotting a bright cluster of the plants swaying gently in the breeze, could not take a breath without getting a lung and nose full of the thick, natural perfume that filled the air. And those who suffered from allergies could not go out without an entire box of Kleenex.

"Wh-h-achoo. What the he-he-he-choo. Hell is up with this place?" Andrea asked miserably, sniffling as she rubbed at her watering eyes. Some of the people she and Lucas walked past on the way to the local Pokemon Center gave the girl sympathetic looks as she continued to sneeze.

"It's Floaroma Town," Lucas explained. "This place is known for its abundance of beautiful flowers. They sell some very good honey here too."

"Just my fuckin' luck to end up with allergies," Andrea mumbled, sniffling again. Eve, who had begun walking when Andrea had started having sneezing fits, made a sympathetic noise in an attempt to comfort her trainer.

Her efforts where in vain however because Andrea just continued to glare around at the picturesque little town, with its hill full of flowers and its flower shops and its people walking around carrying armfuls of flowers. However, the town was, Andrea had to admit, rather pretty. The homes had the look of cottages about them, many with little window baskets filled with some of the colorful flowers that seemed to thrive in the area. The Pokemon Center and Poke Mart, both smaller than any she had seen so far, were within a stones throw of each other. And the place was small, something that Andrea appreciated because she knew that not even Lucas would tell her she could get lost here. She would have rather liked the town but for the fact that the dam place seemed to export the flowers that were currently making her life a small Hell.

As they made their way to the Pokemon Center they passed one of the flower shops where a man had just come out to set up a small display of the colorful local flora. He turned to Lucas and Andrea as they were walking by with a smile and waved them in the direction of his shop. Lucas, to polite not to at least hear what the man had to say, stopped and turned in his direction, grabbing Andrea's shirtsleeve as she tried to keep walking.

"Hello you two," the flower salesman said cheerily. "Could I perhaps interest you in buying a flower for your pretty young lady my lad?"

The man held up one of the flowers he had setting up in the display, commenting on its color and low price. Lucas blushed and began a stammered explanation that he and Andrea were just traveling partners. Andrea just scowled before she sneezed and started walking away, Lucas following her after the flower salesman hastily apologized for his mistake.

Without further incident they reached the Pokemon Center and walked inside to the increasingly familiar lobby. The place was brightly lit like all Pokemon Centers, although it was smaller than any Andrea had entered so far. The small size of the building was only increased by the large pots full of colorful flowers that were placed strategically in corners to add splashes of color to the normally plain looking building. Andrea sneezed and cursed under her breath as she and Lucas walked up to the counter.

"Ah, hello," Nurse Joy greeted them before disappearing into the back to grab the trays she would carry their Pokeballs away on. When she came back she also had a small box of tissues which she handed to Andrea with a sympathetic smile. With a grateful look Andrea traded the nurse her Pokemon for the box of tissues, informed that she could keep the box and her Pokemon would be back in an hour or so.

Pokemon taken care of, Lucas was about to go get in the line to get a room when Andrea stopped him. When he looked at her questioningly, she explained. "I want to get out of this dam place as soon as possible. We're leaving once our Pokemon are healed."

Before Lucas could say anything Andrea quickly grabbed a tissue and sneezed loudly. She glared around the room until she spotted a garbage can and disposed of the tissue. When she came back Lucas agreed with her plan of leaving as soon as possible, suggesting they get lunch while they waited for their Pokemon. Andrea nodded so they set off for the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was not very crowded so they were able to go through the line quickly and find an empty table. Andrea swiftly unwrapped her sandwich and began eating as soon as they sat down while Lucas took his time, talking about their travel plans for the near future.

"It'll take about two days to cover Route 205 and, if we don't get lost, it should be three, maybe four days through Eterna Forest."

"Are you implying I'm going to get us lost?" Andrea asked after swallowing a bite of her sandwich.

"No," Lucas said, beginning to eat himself. "Lots of people get lost in there. It's normal. That being said, we should probably plan for that part of the trip to last a week, just to be careful. We'll have to pick up more supplies before we leave."

Andrea groaned, about to complain about the idea of staying in Floaroma Town a second longer than she thought necessary, when a shadow fell over the table. Andrea and Lucas looked up to see a girl holding a tray and looking a bit nervous.

"Hello," the girl said, smiling slightly, "I was wondering, could I sit with you two? I've been traveling by myself a bit and would like the human company."

Lucas nodded and indicated for the girl to take the empty seat next to him. With a bigger smile and a thank you, the girl sat down. Placing her tray of the table, she held her hand out to Lucas.

"Laura," she said as the two shook hands.

"Lucas."

Laura turned to Andrea holding her hand out. After a pause, Andrea took it and they shook. "Andrea."

"It's nice to meet the both of you," Laura said, beginning to unwrap her own sandwich.

While sitting, Laura seemed much shorter than she had when standing over the table, not more then five four at best Andrea guessed as the new arrival started talking animatedly with Lucas. Her hair, cut slightly above her shoulders, was a much lighter brown than Andrea's own and made her suspect Laura might have at one point in her childhood been a blond. As Lucas told the girl about how they were heading up to Eterna so Andrea could get her next badge, Laura reached up a hand a brushed away a strand of hair that had moved in the way of her green eyes.

"So, are you from Kanto or something?" Laura asked once Lucas was finished, turning to Andrea.

"No," Andrea replied, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"Where are you from then?"

"Why do you care?" Andrea asked, ignoring Lucas's look that was telling her to be polite.

"Well," Laura began to explain, unperturbed by Andrea's attitude, "you seem a bit old to have just started out as a trainer and you have a slight accent, so I figured you must be one of those people who travels the region's once they get done with their home League. I just wanted to know where you're from."

"I started here in Sinnoh," Andrea told her.

"Really? How old are you, like, sixteen?"

"Seventeen," Andrea told her, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"I'm seventeen too," Laura informed them happily. "So, why'd it take you so long to start?"

"Family issues. Why'd it take you so long to start?" Andrea asked, hoping the other girl would become so busy answering she would stop asking questions.

Laura seemed a bit disappointed by Andrea's uninformative answer, but she began to explain her own story anyways. "Oh, I'm not a trainer, I'm a breeder. It's sort of a family trade so I've been spending my time with my parents and grandparents, learning stuff from them and working with some of the Pokemon I've caught. I specialize in flying, specifically bird, Pokemon you know. Anyway, I decided it would be good experience for me and my Pokemon to head out and see the region and stuff, you know? Now here I am, traveling all by myself, although I probably should have found someone to travel with since I'm a bit of what some would call a social butterfly."

"I never would have guessed," Andrea said dryly.

Laura happily chatted with them, mainly Lucas, while they ate. She was impressed when Lucas told her he was one of Rowan's assistants and enviously informed both Andrea and Lucas how lucky they were to know the man. Andrea did her best to have as little to do with the conversation as possible.

Everyone had finished eating but Lucas and Laura continued to sit and talk, leaving Andrea to roll the cap of her soda between her hands in a bored manner as she waited to leave. Glancing at her Poketech Andrea swore before quickly getting up.

"Come on Mr. Sociable, we have to go get our Pokemon," Andrea told one of her stunned table partners. Lucas nodded and apologized to Laura for their hasty departure before they both grabbed their trays and hurried off. Much to Andrea's carnage Laura did the same and followed them out of the cafeteria.

Reaching the lobby Andrea saw one of the nurses standing behind the counter, looking around the room. In front of her sat two trays with Pokeballs and a rather impatient looking Eevee. Lucas and Andrea hurried up to the counter, Lucas apologizing to the nurse for being late and Andrea apologizing to Eve. Both parties accepted the apologies and Lucas and Andrea were able to leave, Laura following behind them.

"_I think you should know we're being followed_," Eve said, looking over her shoulder as they walked.

"I know," Andrea said with a sigh.

"Know what?" Laura asked, speeding up so she was now walking next to Andrea.

"I know which way it is to the shop to get our supplies," Andrea said with a scowl in Laura's direction. "As I'm sure Lucas told you we're leaving after we re-achoo." Andrea stopped her explanation to start sneezing, remembering to late that she had left the box of tissues at their lunch table in the rush to go get their Pokemon.

"Yeah, about that," Laura began, Andrea's odd behavior from moments earlier forgotten for the time being. "I was wondering, could I come with you guys? I've figured out that I'm not really cut out to travel alone."

"How do you know we're not psychotic killers or something?" Andrea asked, rubbing at her nose.

"We would love for you to come with us," Lucas said, giving Laura a smile and Andrea a frown.

"I wouldn't," Andrea mumbled to the ground, realizing any protest she made would be ignored.

"Thanks a ton," their newest traveling companion said happily. "I have to go grab my stuff from the Pokemon Center and check out, so I'll meet you guys by the exit to Route 205." With a wave, Laura hurried off in the direction they had all just come from.

"Why'd you tell her she could come?" Andrea asked Lucas in frustration.

"Why were you being so rude?" Lucas shot back, leading the way to the small store that sold traveling supplies.

"'Cause I don't want her to come," Andrea shouted.

"Why not? She seems nice enough."

"_Who was she anyway?_" Eve asked.

"Her name's Laura," Andrea answered before turning back to Lucas, "and that's why."

"Because her name's Laura?" Lucas asked in confusion as they entered the store.

"No you idiot," hissed Andrea, keeping her voice down only because she did not want anyone hear what she was going to say next. "Because I can talk to my Pokemon. Even I know that's not normal."

Lucas looked a bit stunned by this reasoning, opening his mouth to say something before closing it again with a thoughtful look. "I never actually thought of that," he told Andrea with a nervous smile.

"You never thought of it?" Andrea asked in an enraged whisper. "Well did you ever think of some of the other reason's I don't want someone I know nothing about coming with us? Like, maybe because the main reason I'm on this trip is to find out why I'm here and who I am? In case you forgot I sort of have amnesia here."

The two had grabbed a small basket and begun their shopping while Andrea raged at Lucas and a few of the other shoppers were beginning to give the pair curious looks. Lucas smiled at them while Andrea scowled, the two looks either reassuring people that things were fine or warning them they had better mind their own dam business.

"I'm sorry okay, I never thought of any of that. I guess I just sort of got used to it. It would be rude to suddenly tell her she can't come though, especial since we don't have any good reasons we can tell her as to why she suddenly can't come." Picking some things up from off of a shelf, Lucas thought. "How about you just don't talk to your Pokemon around her as much? It's mot like you need to stop talking to them entirely, just not as much."

"Why don't I stop talking to you altogether?" Andrea said, Eve agreeing with her despite the fact Lucas could not understand what she said.

"I don't know what to tell you Andrea," Lucas said in exasperation.

"You could tell me you're telling her she can't come," Andrea pointed out.

"I can't tell her that," Lucas protested as he placed some more of their needed supplies into the basket.

"I can," Andrea told him.

Lucas sighed and turned to Andrea. "Look, why don't you give Laura a chance? Maybe you'll like her and you can tell her about talking to your Pokemon and stuff."

"I should just leave you two to go travel on your own."

Lucas smiled and turned back to their shopping. "You can't do that. You'd be lost within the hour."

"I would not be," he was informed indignantly.

"_You would too,_" Eve said with a sigh. "_That's why we don't have much choice but to stick with someone who knows their way around the region._"

Andrea was prepared to argue with the both of them but they had finally come up to the counter to pay for their items. After being reminded that Lucas had paid last time, Andrea brought forward her pack and dug out her money, paying for the supplies. Items purchased, they headed out of the store and distributed the items between the two of them.

Unable to think of a valid reason for ditching Laura that didn't involve her talking to Pokemon and such, Andrea was forced to follow Lucas without protest as they walked up to the decided meeting spot.

Any hopes Andrea had been holding onto about not gaining a new traveling partner were dashed when they were in view of the entrance onto Route 205. Standing under the sign that happily requested people to please come back to Floaroma stood Laura, who waved once she saw them. Lucas waved back while Andrea scowled.

"You know," Laura said jokingly to Andrea once they had met up, "your face is going to end up sticking like that."

"Good, maybe people will start getting the hint to leave me alone," Andrea said. Laura just smiled as if Andrea was being unfriendly simply to be amusing. She might just think that way, Andrea realized, thinking about how, excluding those two Galactic Grunts, everyone seemed to get along with everyone around here.

"So, why'd you decide to become a trainer?" Laura asked Andrea politely as they all began walking.

There was a brief pause as Andrea tried to quickly come up with a reason that sounded normal. When none came to her she simply replied with, "None of your business." Laura, seeming to have finally become exasperated with Andrea's unfriendly behavior, sped up so she was walking ahead with Lucas. Andrea slowed her own pace so she was walking next to Eve, who was having a bit of a hard time keeping up with the long legged humans. Figuring they would soon be far enough away from the accursed flowers that she didn't have to worry about sneezing as much, Andrea bent down and scooped up her Pokemon. Eve thanked her before regaining her normal place on her trainer's shoulder.

While all of this was going on, Laura was having a quiet conversation with Lucas.

"Did I do something to offend Andrea?" Laura asked worriedly, glancing back at the girl in question.

Lucas shook his head and tried to reassure the newest member of the group. "No, she's like that with most people, they're just not around long enough to deal with it much. She's not much of what you'd call a people person, so I think she's trying to scare you off. Hang out around her enough though and you'll find she's actually a real nice person under all that attitude."

Laura turned to take another look back at the brunet, noticing how she was smiling happily at the Eevee now on her shoulder, bringing up a hand to scratch the Pokemon behind its injured ear. The breeder was a bit surprised to see that happy smile on that face, having only seen frowns and surly looks up until then.

Before she could be noticed watching, Laura turned back to Lucas. "I would ask Andrea this, but it might be a touchy subject for her, so could you tell me what happened to her Eevee?"

Lucas took a quick look backwards himself before turning his attention to the road ahead once more. "It could be a touchy subject, I'm not all that sure myself. Anyways, her Eevee, who's name is Eve by the way, was abused by her last trainer from what we can tell. That's where she got all of those scars and stuff from. Eve was having some real hard times before Andrea showed up and now I honestly haven't seen them apart."

"That's sort of sweet," Laura commented.

Lucas chuckled, "Yeah, well, just don't tell them that. You want to be liked, remember?"

Laura smiled and nodded. "Point duly noted. So, you think Eve'll evolve into an Umbreon or and Espeon? Or is Andrea planning to get a stone and evolve her?"

"I don't think she is planning to evolve her at all," Lucas admitted. "I asked myself one time and after Andrea got all done with being grumpy at me she said she was leaving it up to Eve."

Laura glanced back and saw what appeared a whispered conversation going on between Andrea and Eve. Smiling at the closeness of the trainer and her Pokemon, Laura turned back to Lucas and continued to pepper him with questions, some about Andrea and her Pokemon and other's about the boy himself. As eager to have someone to talk to as Laura herself, Lucas happily answered her questions.

As Laura and Lucas talked, Andrea had her own quiet conversation with Eve.

"_Her name's Laura and she's a breeder?_" Eve asked, looking at the back of the girl in question.

"Yeah, and she apparently specializes in bird Pokemon."

Eve thought about this before voicing her next question. "_Do you think we can trust her? If she found out?_"

"I don't know," Andrea answered with a small shake of her head. "Everyone I've met who found out has taken it well so far. I just don't want her to find out that I'm not from here and stuff and then go blabbing it around."

"_She does seem talkative,_" Eve observed. Andrea seemed to slump slightly as Eve said this, so the Pokemon rubbed her head against her trainer's cheek. "_Don't worry we'll get this all figured out. Roz and Zora will help too, when we tell them about it later._"

Since they had left Floaroma Town, there had been a river peacefully moving along to the left of the dirt path they were traveling on, a white picket fence separating the shore from the Route. The group had now come across a sturdy looking bridge that spanned the river, allowing travelers to pass onto the farther portion of Route 205. Standing in front of the bridge and looking as if she was about to cry, was a small, black haired girl.

Upon seeing the three teens the little girl, no more than eight, rushed up to them. "Oh, trainers you have to help me. These mean spacemen won't let me go see my papa. I've asked and asked, but they just won't let me in to see him." The little girl finally started crying and Laura bent down to rub the girl's back and make comforting noises.

"Why don't you ask the police for help?" Andrea asked, unfazed by the tears. "Or some of the locals?"

"Be-because no one around here believes me when I tell them about the spacemen," the girl informed Andrea through her tears.

"And Floaroma is too small to have its own police station," Lucas added, looking uncomfortably at the crying child, not sure what he should do. "The nearest one is in Jubilife."

"_Andrea, doesn't the spacemen thing sound familiar?_" Eve asked suddenly.

Andrea, who had not considered what Eve was suggesting, turned quickly to the little girl. "Hey, kid, do these spacemen have funny looking blue haircuts?"

The girl nodded, her tears slowing down as Laura continued to comfort her. Lucas gave Andrea a wide eyed look when the girl nodded. "You don't think it could be…?"

"I do," Andrea told him. "Come on kid, show us where these spacemen are quick and we'll help your dad."

"Oh, thank you," the girl said before rushing off ahead. The three teens were forced to run to keep up with the girl, Laura asking questions as they went.

"So you guys know these 'spacemen'?" She asked between breathes.

"Yeah, group of real bastards who call themselves Team Galactic," Andrea told her. When she and Lucas had met up with the Team Galactic members for the first time in Jubilife she had taken an extreme dislike to the group for some reason and was looking forward to another confrontation with the freaks, if only so she could mess with whatever plan they had this time.

They saw the windmills, huge, white and blue constructs rotating lazily in the wind, before they came into view of the actual building. Still running after the girl they passed a sign announcing they were reaching the Valley Windworks, home of ecological, wind driven energy. Slouching near the front door of the Windworks building and calmly smoking was a man with a blue bowl cut and spacesuit like uniform. Upon hearing the group of people running in his direction, the man dropped his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out before quickly standing to attention, as if to trick whatever superior that was coming that he had actually been guarding the place attentively the whole time.

A sneer came to the man's face and he slumped once more when he saw that it was only the annoying little girl who had been coming for the last few days and a small group of teenagers. Kids these days, never leaving people alone to work on their plans for world domination!

"Oi, kid, I thought I told you that you're not allowed in here. Take your little buddies and leave!"

The little girl stuck her tongue out at the galactic grunt and pointed at the people she had brought with her. "These trainers are going to stop you and help me see my papa again, you meanie spaceman."

The Galactic grunt laughed, making no attempt to hide his contempt at the thought of being beaten by any of the group. AS the group looked at him with varying degrees of frusteration, the man tried to control his laughter and eventually got it down to a small chuckle. "Okay kiddies, I'll make this easy for you. You just have to leave right now and I promise you won't get hurt."

"Just let us in you jerk," Laura said angrily, taking a step forward. "How heartless can you people be, keeping a young girl from her father?"

"Like I said," Andrea said with a shrug, "real bastards."

"Andrea," Lucas said severely, glancing down at the little girl before glaring in Andrea's direction, "there's a child here you know."

"She'll hear the word eventually. Just don't go around repeating it kid," Andrea added as Lucas continued to glare at her.

"If you kids don't get out of here, I'll be forced to teach you who you're dealing with and take your Pokemon as payment for the little lesson," the grunt warned, taking a Pokeball off of his belt. Eagerly, Andrea took a step forward, ready to take on the man's challenge. Laura held out a hand to stop her though, bringing out one of her own four Pokeballs.

"Oh, so you want to loose your Pokemon?" the man asked gleefully.

Laura gave the man a frown that could rival one of Andrea's on a bad day. "No, I'm going to be the one teaching. Today's lesson: manners."

"Lame," came Andrea's voice. "Just kick his ass already. And don't repeat that word either kid."

Ignoring Andrea, Laura released her Pokemon at the same time the grunt released his. From the man's Pokeball came a Glameow, from Laura's an odd, colorful bird with a head shaped like a musical note.

Andrea watched the following battle critically, not expecting much from her newest traveling companion and her odd little bird Pokemon. Chatot, or Jack as Andrea soon found he was called, was surprisingly strong however. Laura had said she had spent the last seven years training her Pokemon and learning her chosen trade as a breeder, a job Andrea later learned involved, among other things, bringing out a Pokemon's full potential in everything from battles to something called contests. Those seven years were evident in the way Jack easily followed Laura's commands, almost seeming to anticipate them as he swiftly avoided many of Glameow's attacks and viscously retaliated. In almost no time at all the battle was over, Laura ending up the victor.

"Class dismissed," Laura said with a pleased nod as both she and the Galactic grunt returned their Pokemon

"Extra lame with a side of corny," Andrea added from the sidelines. This time Laura turned to face Andrea with a frown, only to receive a mischievous grin from the other girl. Sighing, she turned back to her former opponent.

"Now let us in," Laura demanded of the man, taking a step in the direction of the door.

"I'm not going to fail like those idiots in Jubilife. Do you know what they'll do to me?" the man asked, backing away in the direction of the door. "Ha, you kids'll never get in because I'm going to lock you out. The only other people with a key to this place are my comrades in the Floaroma meadow. Let's see you ruin our plans now." With that the man whipped around and opened the door. As everyone rushed forward he slammed it behind him and in the silence that followed they could all hear the lock turn.

"Dam it," Andrea shouted, going up to the door and rattling the handle. From the safety of the building she could hear the grunt laughing at her. Slamming her fist on the door, she cursed again, quickly adding that the young girl was not to repeat what she was saying. "So what are we going to do now guys?" the angry teen asked her group.

"He told us where to get another key," Lucas pointed out. "Why don't two of us go and get it and the other can stay here with the girl incase anything changes here."

"Good idea Lucas," Andrea said, walking over and patting him on the shoulder. "And I'm so glad to hear you volunteer to stay here with the kid."

"Wait…but…I never…" Lucas stammered, trying to protest as Andrea started rushing off, motioning for Laura to follow. When he could tell he had no choice but to stay, he shouted after the two females, "Don't let Andrea lead, you'll be lost in minuets." There was no comment as the two continued to run back in the direction of Floaroma, although Laura did speed up and take the lead.

-------------------------------------------------

AN: Hope you guys like the story so far. Also hope you're not sitting on the edge of your seats to find out what happens next because I'm going on a rather long vacation. No updates for about three weeks guys, sorry for the wait.


	12. In Which Mars has Anger Issues

**Chapter 12: In Which Mars has Anger Issues**

"Do you know where this meadow is?" Andrea asked as they ran.

"Yeah, although I don't think you'll like the place," Laura replied.

Andrea groaned, all too easily able to guess as to why she would dislike the place they were heading. Flowers, lots of them, would be involved, of that she was sure. They continued to run and Eve eventually having to jump off of Andrea's should and run with them, no longer able to keep her balance on her trainer's shoulder.

They arrived into town panting, receiving a few looks form passerbys but on the whole their entrance was ignored. Out of breath from the run, Laura simply indicated the direction they had to go before heading off at a brisk walk. Andrea followed behind after scooping up Eve. They made their way through a small field of flowers, Andrea beginning to sneeze, and towards the back of the town.

Trees surrounded the edge of the town but there was a small tunnel that went through them and led to the meadow. As they neared this natural tunnel the girls could hear the sound of raised voices and, after exchanging a quick look, hurried forward silently. They came out of the tunnel to find themselves in a field of flowers far larger than the one they had just left. Standing in the flowers, a short distance away from trees, stood three people, two members of Team Galactic and one old man.

"…Honey old man," one of the Galactic grunts was demanding when Andrea and Laura arrived unnoticed.

"We need it so we can attract the many Pokemon needed for our plan," the other added.

"Yeah, so you'd better hand it over or suffer the consequences. We're done asking nicely," the first grunt warned.

The old man stubbornly shook his head. "I don't know what exactly you young people are up to, but I can tell it's no good. I'll never give you even a drop of my honey."

"Don't say we didn't warn you," the first grunt said with a laugh as both Galactic members reached for the Pokeballs at their belts. It was at that moment that Andrea's nose began to itch. She tried to stop but soon she sneezed loudly and everyone in the meadow was looking in her direction.

Now that they had been noticed by the Team Galactic members, Andrea sighed and took a step forward. "Hey, either of you have a key to the Windworks?"

"What are you doin' here kids?" asked the second grunt.

"Answer my question and I'll answer yours," Andrea told him, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes.

"I've got the key," the first grunt told her, taking it out and showing it to her. "Now answer our question."

"We're here to get that key. If you give it to us we'll leave," came the response.

"Andrea," Laura exclaimed. "We need to help that old man too."

Andrea just turned and looked at her before shrugging and looking back at the grunts. "So, giving us the key or not?"

"I think not," the first grunt said. "You two have heard a bit too much I think. It's unfortunate, for you at least, but we'll have to stop you from leaving." With that he released the Pokemon he had been planning to attack the old man with earlier, his partner soon doing the same.

Laura stepped up next to Andrea, a Pokeball in her hand. "I'll take the guy with the Glameow, you take the one with the Zubat."

"Don't really care either way," Andrea said, releasing Zora. Laura gave Andrea's Pokemon an approving look before releasing her own, a large, pelican like creature.

"We're in a hurry Zora," Andrea informed her Pokemon, "so we need to take out this guy fast. That said, let's start things off with spark."

Zora began the process of storing electricity the moment the command left Andrea's mouth. True to her trainer's request for speed, Zora had enough electricity gathered for the attack faster than ever before. Star shaped tail glowing, pieces of static clinging to her fur, she charged the Zubat, leaping into the air before hitting into her opponent, all of the electricity she had stored moving from her to the other Pokemon.

Zubat fell to the ground, stunned. Not wasting any time, Andrea ordered Zora to finish the battle off with bite and the Galactic grunt was soon withdrawing his Pokemon. Another Zubat appeared when he released his next Pokemon and this time the grunt's Pokemon put up more of a fight.

"Supersonic," ordered the man.

Zubat opened its huge mouth but Andrea could not hear anything. Zora, on the other hand, seemed to be having a hard time with whatever the Zubat was doing. The eclectic Pokemon began to stumble around as if dizzy and when Andrea asked if she was okay the response was something along the lines of, "_Everyt'in' spinnin'_"

"What the hell is going on?" Andrea said, looking down at Eve for help.

"_Looks like Zora's confused,_" Eve said, watching as the electric Pokemon continued to stumble around, mumbling about spinning trees.

"No shit she's confused," Andrea said in frustration, looking over at the grunt to see him laughing at her Pokemon's predicament.

"_No, it's a status aliment. It should wear off in a bit, but she could hurt herself in the meantime,_" Eve explained patiently.

"Think I should recall her?"

"_She won't act like it, but I think she might be a bit hurt if you do._"

"Well then-" Andrea began, only to be interrupted by the grunt shouting an attack.

"Leach life." This time, Andrea was well aware of what the attack did.

"Move Zora, move," Andrea ordered her still stumbling Pokemon. Zora just looked around, as if trying to figure out where the shouting was coming from. This cost the electric Pokemon, who let out a surprised squeak when the Zubat landed on her and sunk its fangs into her neck. Zora's eyes began to droop as she had the energy drained from her body. Zora's wobbling legs gave out on her and, through some miracle, she ended up falling on her side, a movement that disturbed the bat Pokemon feeding on her enough for it to flap back into the air.

"Zora, you need to get up," Andrea pleaded with her Pokemon. Through her currently muddled view of the world, Zora was able to make out what her trainer wanted and struggled back to her feet. Zora shook her head in an attempt to clear it but the action did little for her as the double image of Zubat continued to flap in front of her.

"Bite and finish the little girl's Pokemon off," ordered the grunt.

"Dodge it Zora, then bite," Andrea ordered.

As Zubat swooped down at Zora she stumbled out of the way, forcing the flying Pokemon to pull back or land face first on the ground. Zora turned around, nearly tripping over her feet as she did so, and leapt at her opponent. Having aimed for the correct of the two Zubat she was seeing at the moment, she was able to sink her teeth into the other Pokemon's wing. Gravity dragged them both to the ground, where Zora refused to let go of her opponent. The Zubat struggled and beat at Zora's head with its other wing, forcing her to eventually let go. Zora's confusion was lessening and when Andrea ordered her to use spark she was steady enough on her feet to charge her opponent and make contact with the devastating electric attack. The second Zubat was down for the count and recalled by a frustrated looking grunt.

"You two will regret this," the grunt warned as Andrea withdrew Zora. Laura had just finished up her battle as well and was recalling her Pelipper as the other grunt agreed with his partner. After a few more threats the two ran off, the key to the Windworks being dropped in their haste. Walking over to where her opponent had just been standing, Andrea bent down, moving grass and flowers out of her way as she searched for the key. Triumphantly she straitened up with the small piece of metal in her hand.

"Okay, now that we got the key we can head out," Andrea said, already walking towards the tunnel of trees.

"Wait, I need to thank the two of you for saving me from those men," the old man said, hurrying forward.

"Oh, it was nothing sir," Laura said modestly. "We're just glad we could help."

"She is anyway," Andrea added.

"Here, take this as a sign of my gratitude," the old man said, shoving a jar full of an amber liquid into Laura's hands.

"Oh, some honey. Thank you sir," Laura said appreciatively.

"You can buy some more from me for a hundred Poke any time," the old man told her.

"If we're done receiving free samples…" Andrea said, gesturing towards the trees. Laura thanked the old man again and placed the honey in her pack before hurrying forward and leading the way out of the meadow. They ran once they left the trees, trying to get back to the Windworks as quickly as possible.

Out of breath, they arrived at their destination. Panting, Andrea held up the key for Lucas and the little girl to see, unable to say anything as she gulped down air. Lucas waited for the two girls to catch their breath before he took the key from Andrea and walked over to the door. Holding a finger up to his lips to signal silence, he placed the key in the lock and turned it. Slowly, he pushed the door inward and looked around the corner.

What he saw was the man who had locked them out in the first place, shock covering his face. Without a word the man hurried off deeper into the building, likely to inform his superiors about the intruders.

"Well, so much for the element of surprise," Andrea said from over Lucas's shoulder. Pushing past Lucas, she walked into the building, grinning. "And without that, we can now make as much of a racket as we want giving any grunts we come across a beat down."

"We won't have to worry about sneaking around, that is true," Laura said, stepping into the building herself. Turning to the little girl, Lucas told her to stay outside before he followed his two companions inside.

As they followed the one hallway the sound of the generators began to fill their ears. Turning the corner, they came across the first of the guards, who was standing in the middle of the hall as if waiting for them.

"I'm not going to let you three interfere with our plans," the guard told them, releasing a Zubat.

"You guys go on," Lucas said, stepping forward and releasing his Chimchar. "I'll take care of this guy. The little girl said her dad should be in a room at the back, so head there."

Without protest the two girls hurried past the guard, who could do little to stop them as Lucas ordered his Pokemon to attack. The sounds of battle receded and were soon covered by the sounds of the generators as the two hurried down the hall. Andrea stopped briefly to pick up Eve, who had been lagging behind as they continued towards the back of the building.

The hallway led to a door that stood slightly ajar. Cautiously, making sure no one was standing on the other side waiting to ambush them, Laura opened the door the rest of the way. The sound of the generators increased tremendously but other than that there was nothing.

"Looks like the generator room," Laura commented over the noise as they walked in.

"I couldn't tell," Andrea said sarcastically, looking at the large machines that took up most of the space of the room they had entered. The generators whirred loudly, busily converting the wind into usable human energy without any concern for what was going on in the building that housed them.

Walking around two of the generators, the two females were confronted by another guard, also seeming to have been already alerted to their presence.

"I bet if I stop you two," the guard said, releasing a Glameow, "I'll get a promotion."

"Like you could beat us," Andrea said, hand already reaching for a Pokeball.

Laura stopped her by holding out a hand and releasing her own Pokemon. It was a different bird Pokemon than the last two, this one resembling a larger version of a Starly. "No offence Andrea, but we want to try and keep these generators intact, which, honestly, I don't see happening if you battle. Just leave this to me and Star. You go on and see if you can rescue the girl's father."

Grumbling, Andrea hurried past the guard and further into the generator room. The sound of the machines blocked the sound of the battle and soon enough Andrea came to another door. She turned the handle and was pleased to find the door unlocked. Opening the door slowly, she looked around the edge to make sure there were no surprises on the other side.

Inside the room were four people, one of whom was the grunt who had locked them out of the building to begin with. Sitting in a chair by a desk was an unshaven man who Andrea could only guess was the girl's father. Standing next to the man was an elderly, balding guy in a lab coat with a pair of glasses perched on his nose and a slightly hunched back. He was saying something to the room's final occupant in a frustrated tone. The last person in the room was a female with her back turned to the door, so Andrea was unable to see her face. Andrea could see that, while her hair was red and did not have a bowl cut, she was wearing a variation of the female Team Galactic Uniform.

"…Are you going to give us the information we need or not?" the female was soon demanding of the man sitting in the chair.

"I'm not going to tell you how to take the energy from here," the man said stubbornly, shaking his head.

"Commander," the grunt said, interrupting.

"Shut up," snapped the woman. "Whatever it is can't be that important. You can tell me in a bit."

"Mars," said the balding man, "Why don't we just go get that little girl that's been hanging around? I'm sure our friend here will talk if it'll help his daughter."

"Don't you dare harm my Elizabeth," the man shouted, turning angrily to the balding man.

"Don't be a fool Charon. The boss said to keep this operation as low key as possible. No one noticed this guy going missing 'cause he barley leaves this place. They will notice if a little girl who's always in town disappears though."

It was at this point that Andrea suddenly sneezed, swearing soon after when she noticed the potted flowers near the door. Everyone in the room turned to the door to see the face of a female teenager and an Eevee peaking in.

"How the hell did you get in here?" demanded Mars.

"That's what I was trying to tell you about commander," the grunt said in a whiny voice. "We've got intruders."

"Be quite you useless grunt. Can't even keep guard properly," Mars mumbled to herself. "Come here to help this man out I assume little girl?" Mars asked, frowning, as Andrea stepped into the room.

"What is it with you people and calling me a little girl? I'm seventeen you know," Andrea informed her huffily. "And yeah, I guess I am here to help the guy out."

"Did my daughter ask you to help me? Is she okay?" the man asked desperately. He struggled in his chair and it was then that Andrea noticed he had been tied to it.

"Yeah, your kid's okay," Andrea told him. "I don't think these Galactic morons are going to be able to say the same about themselves in a bit though."

This comment made Mars smile, even chuckle quietly. "I see you've got spunk kid. What's your name?"

"Andrea."

"Well, Andrea, how about giving up your goody-two-shoes ways and joining the winning team? Team Galactic could certainly use some competent members."

Andrea shook her head, smiling herself. "Sorry, but I've seen the help and I'd hardly call them members of the 'winning team.' Besides, whoever said I was doing this out of the kindness of my heart? I just wanted to mess with another Team Galactic plan."

Mars's eyes narrowed as Andrea spoke. Her voice was cold when she spoke next. "What do you mean 'another' plan?"

"Jubilife ring any bells?" Andrea asked her, smile widening.

Anger flashed in the Galactic Commander's eyes as she reached for a Pokeball. "That was you? Charon, try to get that idiot talking while I deal with this nuisance. Try and stop the plans of our master, eh girl? Hope you're ready for the consequences."

"More than ready," Andrea told her, hand on one of her own Pokeballs.

There were two flashes of red light as the Pokemon were released. Zubat hovered in the air as Zora looked up at her newest opponent, waiting calmly for the order to attack. The first order she received was one to dodge however, Mars having quickly ordered her Zubat to use bite. Zora moved quickly out of the way, paws loosing traction on the slick linoleum floor of the room. The electric Pokemon slid into the metal desk head first. Slightly stunned by the impact, Zora was unable to move out of the way quickly enough as Zubat came in for another bite attack. Zora brought around one of her clawed paws to bat her attacker away but the Zubat had already fluttered off.

"Zora, charge," came the command as Andrea watched the Zubat flit around the confines of the room.

Soon the tip of Zora's tail was glowing brightly, the electric Pokemon expecting the command that would come next. Noting that her Pokemon had stored the extra energy needed to give her attack the edge, Andrea gave the command to use spark. Zora gathered a bit more electricity before rushing forward with a leap that brought her in contact with the Zubat. The moment the two touched all of the power that Zora had stored was released on the flying Pokemon, stunning it and sending it crashing to the ground.

"Get up Zubat, use leech life." Zubat followed his trainer's command, taking stiffly to the air again. Zora nipped at the Zubat as it dived at her, forcing it to take to the air again. After a few more such attempts and a few nasty bites, Zubat made it past Zora's defense and latched onto her neck. As with earlier, Zora's eyes began to droop and her legs gave out on her. She had enough energy to let off a few sparks of electricity however, making the Zubat screech and fly away.

Getting back to her feet with some effort, Zora turned to the Zubat, awaiting orders. She did not have to wait long, Andrea telling her to use charge again. Zora stored even more energy than last time and when she was told to use spark the eclectic lion released her most powerful version of the attack to date. Zubat crashed to the ground as the electricity flowed through its body.

Mars withdrew Zubat with a curse before releasing her next Pokemon. The Purugly materialized with a lazy yawn, looking around the room as it blinked sleepily. Zora stood her guard, reasonably more wary than her trainer, who was busy unsuccessfully suppressing the urge to laugh at the sight of the overweight cat Pokemon.

"Okay," Andrea said, calming down from her giggle fit, "Zora, use bite."

"Fake out Purugly," Mars ordered.

Zora began to rush forward towards the other Pokemon. She was surprised when Purugly moved with astonishing speed, especially for a creature of its girth, rushing headlong at Zora. The eclectic Pokemon flinched instinctively, bracing for impact. None came immediately, making the fact that Purugly suddenly barreled into her side all the more shocking. Zora was knocked off her feet and sent tumbling into the desk, where she lay, unable to battle further.

Now taking the Purugly seriously, Andrea withdrew Zora and released Roz. The bird Pokemon appeared with her customary willingness for battle, wings flapping excitedly and a loud and insulting challenge to her opponent coming from her beak. The Purugly's only response to Roz's entrance was to yawn, showing off sharp teeth.

"Roz, I want you to stay out of that thing's way as much as possibly," Andrea said. "It's faster than it looks."

"_Got it boss,_" Roz said before taking to the air. The Purugly simply sat, watching as Roz flew in a tight circle above its head.

"Faint attack," ordered Mars.

Purugly stood up with a sound that resembled a sigh, as if it truly disliked having to put out so much effort. The Purugly looked up at Roz and said something and Roz, despite what Andrea had said about staying out of the way, landed and the ground looking curious. Purugly indicated the desk with one of its paws, causing Roz to turn her head to look in the direction curiously. It was then that Purugly put on another display of seemingly impossible speed, rushing forward to whack Roz hard on the side of the head with a paw. The bird Pokemon was sent tumbling over with a surprised squawk.

"Pay attention Roz," Andrea said in frustration. Roz got up with an apology, shaking her head in attempt to clear it. "Use tackle, okay?"

Roz rushed forward once the command was given, slamming into the other Pokemon's side. Purugly, in a testament to the aggressive bird Pokemon's brute strength, was sent sliding back a few inches. The cat Pokemon hissed angrily and took a swipe at Roz with its claws, the sharp points making contact and tearing through feathers and flesh. Roz just pecked at her opponent in retaliation before flapping away to circle in the air once more.

"Laura said we're not supposed to destroy the generators and the whole destruction thing probably applies to the rest of this place. So if I do destroy it, I'll have to listen to her and Lucas yelling at me, which I don't particularly feel like," Andrea said to herself, thinking about what attack to have Roz use next. "Guess that leaves only one option. Roz, use gust."

"_I thought you were just talking about not destroying this place,_" Eve commented as Roz began to flap her wings.

"I was. That's why I'm not having her use twister," Andrea pointed out. Eve just rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the battle.

Everyone in the room watched as Roz whipped up the powerful, twisting winds of her gust attack. Papers from the desk were scattered to the ground and some even sent so spin in the column of air. Little else in the room was affected however, forcing Eve to silently agree with Andrea's choice of attack.

Purugly was engulfed in the flying type attack, buffeted by the strong wind. The attack slackened after a bit before completely dissipating as Roz began to flap her wings at a more normal pace. The cat Pokemon hissed up at her opponent in anger, Roz simply replying back with a loud insult involving her opponent's parentage. Andrea let the two continue their verbal battle while she thought of what to do next.

Mars was not as content to let the Pokemon shout abuses at each other. "Use scratch Purugly," she ordered.

Purugly demonstrated another of its amazing bursts of speed and quickly crossed the room to the desk. Easily the Pokemon leapt to the top of the desk, from there sending itself into the air directly at Roz. Shocked by her opponent's movements, Roz did not move out of the way quickly enough and received a painful scratch near her wing. It was at this point that gravity caught back up with events and Purugly fell back to the ground, landing safely on all four paws.

The bird Pokemon was forced to land as her wing beats painfully irritated the injury. "_Andrea, what should I do? It kind of hurts to fly,"_ Roz told her trainer, a slight edge of panic in her voice. Purugly watched happily, licking blood from her claws.

"Just stay calm Roz," Andrea told her, "Use quick attack, 'kay?"

Following Andrea's advice about staying calm, Roz took a breath before rushing forward. Purugly tired to move out of the way but the Roz reached the other Pokemon in seconds, colliding painfully into her opponent. Purugly tried scratching Roz again but the bird Pokemon dodged, tackling her opponent after an order from her trainer.

"Quick attack again Roz," Andrea ordered, smiling as she watched Purugly panting. Roz rushed forward swiftly, colliding with the other Pokemon again. Purugly staggered backwards from the impact before falling to the ground, unconscious.

"How could you possibly beat me?" Mars asked angrily as she recalled her Pokemon. "Charon, did you get the information we needed? We have to evacuate now," the Galactic Commander snapped, turning to her balding accomplice.

"No, I didn't. If you had dealt with that girl's Pokemon we could deal with her and wouldn't be having this problem. You're so incompetent."

"Incompetent?" Mars shouted in fury. "You may be a commander Charon, but I joined before you so I've got seniority. I don't want to hear any lip from you." When Charon gave no other reaction than to roll his eyes, Mars turned her wrath on the grunt who had unwisely stayed in the room throughout the battle. "You, this is your fault. There will be consequences. Go and gather the rest now, we have to leave before this brat has a chance to call the authorities."

The grunt nodded mutely before rushing past Andrea and out the room. Smiling and thanking her Pokemon for a job well done, Andrea recalled Roz. She looked up at the still seething Mars when there was a shout of, "And you."

"And me what?" Andrea asked, smirking at the older woman who was beginning to turn a bit red in the face as she yelled.

"You will regret this, I swear by the Original One you will. One day you'll be laying injured somewhere with your Pokemon stolen and. You. Will. Regret. This!"

"Like I told the last Galactic goon who told me that, I'll believe you when you can back up those words."

Mars was about to stat shouting at Andrea some more when Charon interrupted. "Stop acting like the immature female you are Mars. Honestly, you're an embarrassment to the rest of us. Just go round up the grunts so we can leave with some dignity." Mars was about to say something to the old man but stopped herself and marched past Andrea out of the room.

Everyone watched her leave before Charon turned to Andrea. "I commend your skill as a trainer…Andrea wasn't it? Are you sure you wouldn't like to join up with us, you certainly can keep your cool better than some of the incompetents I am forced to work with."

"Answer's still no," Andrea told him, folding her arms across her chest.

"Pity," the old man said with a shake of his head. "You could have been such a help to our plan."

"And what exactly is your plan?" Andrea asked, carouse.

"What do you think?" Charon asked with a laugh before following after his fellow Galactic team members. Andrea sighed, knowing that the only way she could get an answer out of the man was probably to chase after him and some how force the answer out of him, a plan that she didn't particularly feel like acting upon. Sighing again, she crossed the room to the man who was tied to the chair. Without a word she bent down and started working on untying the ropes that held him in place.

The man was alternately thanking her and asking about his daughter when three people burst into the room. The shortest of them rushed over to the man, stopping short a few feet from where he was tied up.

"Papa, you smell," the little girl complained. "You need a bath."

"I know sweetie," the man told his daughter with a laugh. "I'm glad to see you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay too Papa," the little girl said, rushing forward to hug her father despite his smell. Andrea had just finished untying him so he was able to return the hug.

Andrea walked over to the other two members of the group, looking at Lucas with some shock. "What the hell happened to you?" she asked, taking in the bruise that was developing over his right eye.

"That grunt punched me after I beat him in our match, going on about not failing his mission and stuff," Lucas mumbled, looking at the ground.

"I hope you hit him back," Andrea said.

"Well, yeah, I did -"

"That's what matters then," Andrea told him, smiling a bit. "And you? Your grunt to polite to hit a girl or something?" Andrea asked Laura, who showed no signs of getting into any fight past the Pokemon battle.

"More like a bunch of his superiors rushed past before he could try," Laura told her. "What happened in here anyway? This place is a bit of a mess," Laura accused, looking pointedly at the papers scattered around.

"Must have been those Galactic guys. Kidnappers and mess makers," Andrea tuted theatrically while shaking her head, "they must be some truly evil people."

The man interrupted any further conversation by speaking from his seat where he was still holding his daughter. "Elizabeth tells me all three of you helped her. I truly can't thank you enough, especial since it seems one of you got into a bit of a fight on my account."

"Oh, we're just glad to help," Lucas said modestly, Laura agreeing with him.

"Hey, can we go now?" Andrea asked after the man continued to thank them and the other two continued politely denying doing anything the average Good Samaritan wouldn't have done. "I don't know about you two but my Pokemon kind of need a trip to the Center."

"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you here," the man exclaimed.

"No problem, glad we could help," Lucas told him. "It was nice meeting the both of you," he added as he and his group left.

"God, I can just feel my allergies acting up thinking about going back to that place," Andrea mumbled as they left the building.

"_Stop complaining,_" Eve said from her spot on Andrea's shoulder. "_Besides, I think you have more pressing concerns at the moment, like those Galactic guys. This is the second time you messed with their plans and I doubt they'll tolerate even thinking of a third._"

"Don't worry so much," Andrea told her Pokemon quietly. "What's the worst they can do anyways?"

------------------------------

AN: Back from vacation and with computer access again. Sorry it took so long to update, my computer was being pissy and I couldn't get on. Heads up on updates guys: I know I've been updating about every week if we forget the vacation, but that's stopping. I can't keep up with that because this chapter is the last of the ones I wrote ahead of time. Don't worry, I'm not stopping, but updates will take longer until I get some more chapters written up. Hopefully I'll get back to the weekly updates soon. Anyway, thanks to everyone for reading.


	13. In Which Someone Leaves

**Chapter 13: In Which Someone Leaves**

The cafeteria was quiet as the early morning light filtered through the windows. It was an odd contrast to the noise and bustle of the kitchen as the Center staff worked on preparing breakfast for the inrush of trainers that would soon be arriving to fill the quiet room with noise and life. The silence was broken earlier than normally as a female trainer walked into the room, an Eevee trailing behind her.

Yawning, Andrea looked around the quiet cafeteria, noting that none of the chairs had been taken down yet and no food had been put out. Walking over to a table, she took down a chair and placed it on the tiled floor. The noise of the wood touching floor was abnormally loud in the quiet room, despite the fact Andrea had done her best to place the chair down softly. A head peaked out of the kitchen and was quickly withdrawn when Andrea was spotted standing near the chair, covering another yawn. Shouts were soon heard from inside the kitchen and the head peaked out again.

"Dear, what would you like for breakfast?" the woman asked politely, caching Andrea slightly by surprise. "We're not ready to put everything out yet, but I can grab you something real quick."

"I can wait," Andrea told the woman.

"I wouldn't hear of it dear," the woman said with a smile.

"Oh, I'll just have some," Andrea stopped as Eve said something and corrected her planned breakfast order, "some cereal with milk and an orange juice please. I'll have the money out when you get back." Andrea brought out some crumpled Poke from her pack as the woman disappeared back into the kitchen. As she waited for the woman to come back with the cereal, Andrea released her other two Pokemon and went to fetch her whole team some breakfast of their own.

The lady from the kitchen reappeared with a tray that held a blow filled with cereal and milk, the spoon off to the side on a napkin and the plastic bottle of orange juice pushed over to a corner. Andrea took the tray with a thanks and gave the woman the money for the meal. With a comment of how it was her pleasure to help young trainers the woman disappeared back into the kitchen.

Andrea sat down with her food and began to eat, her Pokemon having already started on their meals. "You really should stop telling me what to have for breakfast Eve," Andrea commented as she ate. The only response she received was a grunt form the Pokemon in question and what sounded suspiciously like laughter from the other two. The rest of breakfast was continued in silence.

Once everyone had eaten Andrea cleaned up the various dishes before going back to her seat and giving her Pokemon all serious looks.

"Okay guys, Eve already knows about this, but here's the deal. We've got some new girl named Laura traveling with us now and I don't know if I trust her knowing about, well, this whole talking to you guys thing. And the other stuff that comes with it. So, since this affects you guys too, what should we do about her?"

"_Can't you just ditch her?_" Roz asked.

"Tried that, some people won't let me."

"_Ah, the dork,_" Roz said, nodding her head knowingly.

"_Why don't you just try and get to know her?"_ Zora suggested.

"_That would involve her acting sociable. You know, be nice to people,_" Eve commented, rolling her eyes.

Andrea ignored Eve's comment and sighed. "Well, if you guys can't think of anything, I'll just have to-"

"_Act sociable_," Eve said, followed by an unconvincing cough.

"-See what happens," Andrea finished, glaring at the little brown Pokemon. "So if I let you guys out of your Pokeballs but don't talk much, I'm not being rude or anything, 'kay?"

"_We understand,_" Zora said, Roz nodding her head in agreement. "_Whatever works best for you._"

"Thanks guys. Hey, how about we go out and do some early morning training? I know we passed some patches of grass near town when we came here."

"_Sounds fun,_" Eve agreed, standing up, "_although I'm leading the way there._"

Sighing as her other two Pokemon agreed that this was for the best, Andrea stood up and returned Roz and Zora to their Pokeballs. With a gesture to take the lead from Andrea and a smug look from Eve, the two left the room.

~~**~~**~~**~~

Laura pushed passed a group of trainers and made her way to the table where Lucas was saving her a seat. Placing her tray across the table from him, she took her seat and looked around the room. When she had not spotted what she was looking for, she turned to Lucas, who had already begun to eat.

"Hey, where's Andrea? She wasn't in the room this morning and I don't see her anywhere."

Lucas swallowed his food and shrugged. "She's around somewhere. She always gets up really early, so I'm not surprised she wasn't there this morning. I'm just glad she's not around sending me hurry up vibes while I eat like normal."

"Didn't you say she gets lost easily?" Laura asked worriedly, beginning to eat herself.

"Eve'll keep an eye on her, I'm sure." Taking another bite of food, he looked around the room thoughtfully before swallowing and adding, "Trust me when I tell you, this is a rare occurrence you should appreciate. We got to sleep in by Andrea's standers today, which seldom happens."

"If you say so," Laura said, turning her attention to her food. The two finished their meal in silence and got up.

They were heading for the exit when a voice came over the Center's speaker system. The noise in the cafeteria lessened as trainers listened to see if the announcement had anything to do with them.

"There is a call for Lucas from Professor Rowan. If he could please come answer now, it would be appreciated," a pleasant nurse's voice said.

Turning apologetically to Laura as the noise level increased when the message ended, Lucas began to excuse himself. Laura simply told him hurry and go answer his call, walking off in the direction of the room they had occupied the night before so she could get her things.

"Hello Professor," Lucas greeted as soon as he picked up one of the video phones.

"Hello Lucas. How are things going over there?" Rowan asked pleasantly.

"Fine Professor," Lucas responded, wondering what the point of the call was. "We had another run in with Team Galactic, but we handled it. Andrea and I meet a girl named Laura as well. She'll be traveling with us now."

Rowan, who had looked a bit worried up till then, brightened up at that news. "How is this Laura? Does she seem like a nice girl?"

"She does Professor." Lucas paused and when Rowan still did not get to the point of the call, he voiced the question on his mind. "Professor, why exactly are you calling?"

"Ah, well," Rowan began, clearing his throat. "I know you are enjoying your journey and I know Andrea needs someone to help her out, but, well…" Rowan trailed off before continuing. "I know I'm the one who sent you off but it turns out I rather need your help back here. There is a field study I need done, but I can't spare anyone at the moment…"

"Professor, if you need my help, you just need to tell me," Lucas informed him.

"I didn't want to interrupt your journey. But I rather need the data you see…"

"I have no problem coming back Professor. The only problem," Lucas stopped, wondering how to phrase what he wanted to say. "Well, you know how Andrea can be. She's not too happy about Laura coming, but she needs someone to help her out. She'd be lost in the wilderness in a matter of hours, even with her Pokemon around and she needs someone to explain things to her."

"I must admit I was worried about leaving Andrea alone, but there is this Laura girl now. If you think she's fine, I'm sure things will work out."

"I suppose," Lucas conceded, not sounding very sure.

"So, would you be able to head back to the lab as soon as possible?"

Lucas nodded, happy at the thought of heading home, despite his worries about his traveling companions. "I'll start heading home as soon as I let everyone know."

"Wonderful, thank you Lucas." With a wave, Professor Rowan hung up, leaving Lucas staring at a blank screen for a few seconds. Sighing, Lucas rubbed his eyes in frustration. Sighing again, he went off to find Laura, figuring it would be best to have someone on his side when he had to tell Andrea about the sudden change.

~~**~~**~~**~~

Eve sat panting slightly on Andrea's shoulder as they made their way back to the Pokemon Center, occasionally correcting her trainer's course. The normal grumbles about how she was going the right way were absent seeing as Andrea was in a good mood. The training had gone well and all of her Pokemon were improving, increasing their chances of beating the next gym leader on their first try, which was the plan. If she were to be honest with herself, Andrea would admit that she had also suggested the early morning training because of seeing Laura's battle against the Team Galactic member. The other girl had handled the battle well and her Pokemon appeared dam strong…

Speak of the devil, there stood Laura with Lucas outside of the Pokemon Center, ready to head out. They both looked a bit nervous about something, especially Lucas, but Andrea decided to ignore it, figuring they thought she still didn't want Laura coming. While still true, Andrea decided she would just put up with it for now. No need to ruin her good mood that soon.

"Good, you guys are ready, lets get going," Andrea said once she was in earshot. Neither of them made any move to get going however, and a crease began to form between Andrea's brows.

"Andrea," Lucas began the moment he saw her customary scowl forming. "There's something I've got to tell you."

"Well, tell me as we head out. Come on, we need to make up for lost time."

Figuring the blunt approach would work best on the older girl, Lucas quickly stated what was going on. "Andrea, I have to head back to Professor Rowan's, so we're not traveling together anymore. Laura said she'll still go with you, so you don't need to worry about that."

Andrea, who had already started off in the direction of the town's exit, stopped mid step. Slowly, she turned around, scowl finally firmly in place. "You're what?"

"I have to go," Lucas repeated, keeping eye contact with the glaring brunet.

"And you're leaving me with some random stranger? Why the hell do you have to go to Rowan's anyway? I thought he convinced your parents to kick you out."

Lucas sighed. "That's not how it went Andrea. Besides, Professor Rowan needs my help back at the lab. Can you please be reasonable?"

Andrea opened her mouth to say something but Laura, who could see the conversation was going nowhere fast, interrupted. "Andrea, if your problem is that you'll have no one to help you get around, don't worry. I'm really good with directions."

Andrea stiffened slightly at the comment about directions and turned her increasing anger to Laura. "I'm not worried about directions. My problem is that Lucas seems to think it's okay to send the two of us off together because he seems to think I need a babysitter."

"Andrea, that's not what I'm saying. You'll just find traveling easier with someone who knows the region well."

"_Will you just listen to them and stop being so dam stubborn?_" Eve asked in exasperation.

Andrea was about to turn to Eve with a sharp retort when she stopped herself, remembering Laura's presence. Unable to say anything without making Laura suspicious of her ability, she settled for glaring at Lucas, who she blamed for the entire problem.

"Look, we both have to get through Eterna Forest, so why don't we travel together through there? We'll figure out what to do when we reach Eterna City."

"_Just agree with her,_" Eve ordered when Andrea opened her mouth.

Cursing under her breath, Andrea finally gave in, but not without making it very clear the two of them would only be traveling together as far as Eterna City. Lucas simply smiled in relief and thanked Laura before wishing the two of them good luck and goodbye. He promised to try and meet back up with them if he could as he left, to which he received a mumbled "Whatever," from Andrea and an assurance that that would be wonderful from Laura.

Once Lucas was finally out of sight, Laura turned to Andrea. "So, ready to head out?" She smiled, despite the glare the other girl was giving her. Lucas had warned her before he left that Andrea would be like that. If she gave it time, Andrea would open up he assured her. She just had to be patience and ignore half the things her new traveling companion said to her.

"Lead the way oh great with directions one," Andrea said sarcastically. The direction comment was still bugging her now that it was obvious she couldn't get out of traveling with Laura.

Ignoring Andrea's tone, Laura led them in the direction of Route 205.

~~**~~**~~**~~

Two figures trudged through the patch of tall grass, making a beeline for the steep staircase carved into the small cliff in front of them. The grass to the right of the two girls rustled, marking the path of the Pokemon moving through it. They stopped as the Pokemon appeared, shaking its head.

Andrea just sighed and bent down to pick up Eve. The little Pokemon had insisted on being allowed to give the grass patch a quick search for Buizel when Laura had mentioned that the Pokemon were in the area and Andrea should catch one. Apparently she was going to need a water Pokemon at some point in her journey and getting one soon meant she'd have more time training it.

Laura stopped as Andrea helped Eve regain her customary spot on her shoulder, giving the little brown Pokemon a quick scratch behind its notched ear. Once the two were ready to move again, Laura started off in the direction of the staircase again. Hearing the sound of grass rubbing against a pair of pants coming from behind her, she allowed her mind to wander a bit.

She was still having a hard time getting a grasp on how nice Andrea could be to her Pokemon. Gruff was the nicest way to describe her normal personality with people, although she had seemed a bit more tolerant of Lucas. Her Pokemon were a different story though, always receiving soft caresses when they were out and found looks. Admittedly, Andrea seemed to argue and become frustrated with them sometimes, but she still seemed nicer to her Pokemon.

And speaking of arguing with Pokemon, Laura had to admit that the way her new traveling companion talked to her Pokemon was a bit weird. It was almost as if she could understand them. Andrea seemed to be avoiding those weird conversations she had with her Pokemon when Laura was around but the other girl had still noticed. Like when they had first reached the patch of grass and she had mentioned the Buizel. Eve had said something in her cute little Eevee voice and Andrea had sighed. Eve had made another Eevee noise and Andrea acted as if she was giving into some kind of demand as she let the Pokemon down. It was all very strange…

The sound from behind her was moving in a different direction and Laura turned around. Andrea had her hands in her pockets and was looking moodily at the ground as she slowly walked in a curving arc away from the staircase. Laura was about to open her mouth when Eve made a patient noise. Confused, Andrea looked up, frowning in frustration when she realized she had been heading off in the wrong direction. Neither had noticed her watching the exchange, so Laura turned around quickly and started back off towards their destination.

They walked for another good fifteen minutes until they reached the foot of the staircase that was carved into the small cliff in front of them. The staircase was old and worn and very steep. Just as Laura was about to start making her way up the stairs, Andrea said something for the first time since they had set off.

"This is so boring. Why haven't we run into anything yet?"

"It happens sometimes," Laura told her with a shrug. There was a frustrated snort from Andrea, but besides that she stayed silent. Laura was just glad she had finally said something, even if it had been a complaint.

They made their way up the stairs, both of them glad when they finally reached the flat expanse at the top. Another staircase could be seen ahead of them, leading up another cliff. It was getting later in the day, but Laura figured they should be able to make it a bit past that second staircase before the day was up.

"Let's stop for a quick lunch," Laura suggested, figuring they could spare some time for the break.

Andrea had opened her mouth to respond when a gravely voice came from their right. "Did you just mention lunch girly? Hey, how about you share some food with a poor starving hiker if I can beat one of you in battle?"

Simultaneously, both girls turned to look at the person who had spoken. He was a huge, bear-like man. With a wild black beard that seemed to take up half his face and a large stomach, he was decked out in a hiker's attire and carried a large pack on his back. A strip of white shone through his beard, signaling a large, toothy grin of excitement caused by the thought of food, battle, or both.

"Sir, if you would like some food, we would gladly-"

"You're on. Hope you're ready to starve." Andrea stepped forward with a grin to equal the man's. The bear-man chuckled at Andrea's eagerness, which soon turned into out right laughter when Eve jumped off her shoulder, ready for battle.

"Glad to see you so eager. I'm Daniel. Hope you're ready…"

"Andrea. And I think you should be worrying about yourself."

Chuckling again, Daniel reached for one of his Pokeballs. Andrea felt any foul mood from earlier disappear as she waited for the man's Pokemon to appear. Finally, things were getting interesting…

…Roz hovered in the air above the girl's exhausted Machop. The battle with karate girl, Kelsey, or something like that, had been going on for a bit. Despite the type disadvantage, the fighting Pokemon had been holding up gallantly against Roz and things had been a bit touch and go for awhile. Roz had a bad tendency to rely a bit too much on brute force in battle and Kelsey was a brilliant strategist. Things worked out in the end though.

Andrea watched with a slight smile on her face as Machop got up and tried to use karate chop on Roz, who was hovering a bit to close. Roz took the hit but was able to stay aloft. Andrea gave the command to use gust and as the bird Pokemon began to pump her wings to create the necessary winds for the attack, Andrea found her mind going over the last couple of days.

She had to admit to herself, she had been a bit sad when Lucas left, although she had no idea why since she found him so annoying half the time. That, combined with the fact that she was being dumped with a stranger who she didn't trust, had put her in a bad mood. She had been impatient and irritated until the hiker had showed up. Their battle had been long and Andrea had nearly lost. They would have had to go back to the center if Laura hadn't pulled out a bunch of super potions as they shared their lunch with the hiker.

After that, they had run into a lot of trainers, all of whom Laura had let Andrea battle since she could tell it put the brunet in a better mood. They had even run across some Pachirisu in a patch of grass. Admittedly, that had happened because Andrea had gotten a bit off the path, but the entire incident hadn't put them too behind, whatever Laura said.

Now she was here, battling with Roz, mainly because her other two Pokemon were too tired. Andrea glanced down at Eve as Roz sent the swirling column of air in the Machop's direction. The Eevee was still recovering from their last battle a couple hours back and drooped a bit in exhaustion. Andrea felt bad about pushing her companions so far, but Laura assured her they would make it to a house near the forest soon where trainers could rest up their Pokemon before heading into the forest.

A little victory cry from Roz signaled the end of the battle. Disappointed, Kelsey recalled her Pokemon and congratulated Andrea as she handed over some money. Andrea thanked her for both the battle and the money as she left.

"_I'm feeling a bit funny,_" Roz said as Laura and Eve gasped.

Andrea whipped around in time to Roz begin to glow. It started off as a dim light that surrounded the confused looking Pokemon but it quickly became much brighter. Shocked, Andrea watched as the Roz shaped lighted began to grow larger, its shape changing as it did so. She had seen an evolution once before with Zora, an occurrence that had completely panicked her, but still found the entire process odd.

The light dimmed and disappeared, leaving a happy Roz behind. Where once a small, chubby bird of brown and tan stood was a bird that reached up to about Andrea's hip, who looked much more aerodynamic than its predecessor and actually had some coloring in its plumage. Gone were the eyebrow like tuffs of feathers, replaced by a bright red crest. Gone too were the stubby tail feathers of brown, sleeker ones of red and yellow taking their place.

"_Oh wow, I evolved! That was so cool! It was all, like, I felt all of this energy build up in me and I felt like I was going to pop and poof,_" here an exited Roz opened her large wings, "_and it just went all through me and now I'm evolved!_"

"I'm glad to hear all that Roz, and it was cool, I agree," Andrea told her with a pleased grin, forgetting to watch what she said around Laura.

"Andrea, Roz just evolved into a Pidgeotto," Laura exclaimed, apparently not noticing. The breeder had rushed over to the bird Pokemon the moment the evolution was over, inspecting her feathers and size. "Oh wow, I think she might be a bit bigger than average. By an inch or two maybe. And her plumage looks really nice."

Andrea and Eve both congratulated their friend, who was puffing up with all of the praise and attention. Andrea noticed and laughed. "I'm going to return you before your head gets to big, okay Roz?"

"_Okay, but let me out with Zora soon, I want to show off,_" Roz said happily as Andrea took out her pokeball. She laughed again as Roz was returned, hooking the Pokeball back to her belt with a smile.

"Lets get to that house," Andrea said, turning to Laura. The girl had taken out a notebook and was quickly writing things down. "What are you doing?"

"Making notes, but I can finish later. We can head for the house and stay for the night. It's best not to spend too many nights in Eterna Forest, so we can head out in the morning."

Andrea agreed and they went off in the direction of the house. Any problems Andrea had with Laura were forgotten in the happiness of the moment. The excitement over the evolution had not allowed Laura to miss Andrea's comments towards her Pokemon though. Things were definitely odd about the girl but Laura figured she would find out eventually.

-------------

AN: Sorry this update took so long guys. I'm trying to get writing done but things are busy (it's better than with my other story though, since I lost my inspiration for it. I'll just have to find it again I suppose). Hope none of you were too attached to Lucas, although if you were he'll be visiting eventually. Oh, and don't worry, it won't be just Laura and Andrea forever, I'll be introducing another OC eventually (a much sooner eventually than Lucas's visit), although that one will be a guy. Hope I'm not taking to horrible long to update. Like always, thanks to everyone for reading this (and my author notes) and double thanks to everyone who reviews. I appreciate it.


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